The Stars Shine Brightly for Sailors Sun and Orion
by sparrowflyaway
Summary: The Inner Senshi are struggling against Beryl's forces, who are growing stronger everyday. Can the two new Senshi help them to defeat Beryl once and for all? PS: I suck at summaries.
1. Birthdays, Balls and Brooches

Hi, and thanks for choosing to read my very first fanfiction! Before you start reading my story, I would like to explain some things.

First, I DO NOT OWN SAILOR MOON OR ANY RIGHTS TO IT. It would be really cool if I did, but I don't. I am simply one of the many thousands of fans out there exercising my imagination. (I suspect that you are a fan of Sailor Moon too, otherwise you probably wouldn't be reading this.)

Second, this story is dedicated to my cousin, who got me interested in Sailor Moon after over 10 years away from it. (I had very nearly forgotten about it after that time!)

And third, as I've said, this is my first fanfiction, so please be nice!

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Melina... Melina... Wake up... Please..."

"Melina!..."

"No! Melina! Don't leave us! We need you!..."

"Hang in there, Melina. Just hang on, we'll help you!..."

Melina Pattini suddenly sat bolt upright in her bed, cold sweat trickling down her neck. She stared dazedly around her dimly lit bedroom as she swept her long brown hair out of her pale blue eyes and thought of the nightmare she just had. It was the same one that she had been having for months, but although the voices sounded very familiar, she had no idea who they belonged to or what the dreams meant. She glanced at the silver alarm clock beside her. 7:30. Smiling, she jumped out of bed with excitement, forgetting all about the nightmares. It was her 13th birthday.

"Morning, Mum! I'm late!" Melina said as she slid down the banister to the front hallway.

"Hurry up, girl! You don't want to miss the bus again," said Mrs Pattini, holding out Melina's bag and a piece of toast. Melina grabbed both and dashed out the door to the waiting bus, wondering why her mum didn't say "Happy Birthday". She jumped on and sat down, panting hard.

"Hey, Mel. Can't you ever be ready on time?" said a voice teasingly. Melina turned around to see her red-haired, eleven-year-old friend Hannah smiling cheekily at her.

"Hey, Hannah. I'm so tired; I hardly got any sleep last night, I was so excited about today," Melina smiled, stifling a yawn.

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to those two high school girls visiting too," said Hannah, bouncing in her seat with excitement.

"No, that's not what I-"

"So, anyway, I'm having my birthday party this Saturday down at the arcade, and I was wondering if you'd like to come," said Hannah, cutting Melina off.

"Your party? Oh, s-sure, that sounds fun," said Melina, staring out the window sadly. _Have Mum and Hannah both forgotten that it's my birthday today? _she wondered.

The rest of the day passed by slowly and sadly for Melina. Many people said 'Happy Birthday' to Hannah, and one person even gave her an early birthday present, but no-one said or gave anything to Melina. Melina's spirits were even lower by lunchtime, when she was sitting up by the basketball courts eating her lunch. A squeak from the court gate brought her back to reality, and she looked up to see David, the cutest boy in class (and the boy that Melina had a crush on), walking towards her.

"Hey, Melina. What'cha doing up here all by yourself?" David smiled, his sky blue eyes twinkling.

"Oh, n-n-n-nothing. J-just eating my lunch." Melina stuttered, going red as David sat down beside her.

"What's up? You seem quieter than usual. Are you sick or something?" David asked, staring at Melina with concern.

"What? Oh, no, no, I-I'm fine. I just want to be alone for a while, David," said Melina, staring across the basketball court and wiping a tear from her cheek.

"OK. I understand. Keep your chin up, OK?" David asked, squeezing her shoulder. Melina nodded, still staring across the courts. A while after David left, Melina went to her locker and put her lunchbox away, then walked slowly to the toilets and locked herself in a cubicle. She couldn't control her emotions any longer, and burst into tears. Life wasn't fair. _How could _EVERYONE _have forgotten my birthday?_ she thought. Over her furious sobbing, Melina could hear several girls coming into the bathroom and whispering. Then the bell went, and she unlocked the door and shuffled past the crowd of whispering girls, going slowly back to class.

Melina slumped into her seat, wiping the tears from her now-crimson eyes. David noticed, and gave Melina's shoulder another squeeze as he made his way to his seat. Hannah just gave her a funny look as she sat down, which made Melina's blood boil. She was just considering getting out of her seat to knock a few of Hannah's teeth out when...

"Alright, everyone, settle down," said Miss Kaiou, entering the room followed by two tall, pretty girls, one whose blonde hair was tied into what looked a lot like spaghetti and meatballs, and the other whose brown hair was tied back into a ponytail. The girl with the meatball hair was carrying a large shopping bag full of colourful balls, and both girls smiled at the class as they followed Miss Kaiou to the front of the classroom.

"Class, I'd like you to meet our two special guests," said Miss Kaiou.

"Hello! I'm Usagi Tsukino!" said the girl with the two buns.

"And I'm Makoto Kino," said the girl with the ponytail.

"As I mentioned earlier, they're going to take you out for some games. I'll let them take it from here," Miss Kaiou.

"So, are you all ready to play Dodgeball?" Usagi asked excitedly. A deafening 'YES!!!!' answered her.

"Then let's go!" shouted Makoto.

The two girls led the class out to the basketball courts, where some cones had been set up. Usagi began placing the balls along a white line, while Makoto got everyone to stand to one side. Melina hurried to stand at the back, out of sight. She was still rubbing the tears from her red eyes, and didn't want anyone staring at her.

"OK, does everyone know how to play Dodgeball?" asked Makoto, smiling. The class answered with another deafening "YES!!!!", all except for Melina, who simply nodded and wiped more tears away. Makoto smiled, then she and Usagi began splitting the class up into two teams. Melina was somewhat relieved to see that Hannah wasn't on her team. The two teams walked to opposite sides of the basketball court, then, on Makoto's signal, all the boys and a few of the girls raced to get a ball to throw. A few second in, all hell broke loose, and soon most of the class was throwing balls as hard as they could, and Usagi and Makoto were screaming for them to stop. Melina didn't notice one of the balls come flying at top speed in her direction, and it hit her in the head with a resounding THUNK. The balls stopped flying as Melina blacked out and collapsed.

As the world slowly and painfully returned, Melina heard someone sigh with relief.

"Oh, thank goodness! You had us worried there, Melina. How are you feeling?" asked Makoto as her face came into focus. Melina groaned and clasped her throbbing head.

"Um, yeah, OK, I guess. My head really hurts, though," Melina said weakly, sitting up. She got uncertainly to her feet, then found herself on the ground again as her knees buckled.

"Maybe you should just sit down on the sidelines for a while," said Makoto, smiling sympathetically. Melina nodded, and Makoto helped her to stand and walk slowly to the edge of the courts. Melina and Makoto sat down together and watched the game start up again, this time much less wild.

"So, I don't mean to pry or anything, but I noticed you seem quite upset today. Do you want to talk about it?" Makoto asked gently. Melina sniffed and sighed as tears started welling up again.

"Today's my birthday," Melina whispered through the cloud of tears filling her eyes.

"Really? That's great! Happy Birthday! So what's wrong?" Makoto smiled, holding out a pale pink hanky with delicate, pale-green embroidery on it.

"Well, i-it's just that you're the first one who's said "Happy Birthday" to me," Melina sniffed, taking the hanky and blowing her nose. "Not even my mum said it."

"Oh, really? That's a pity. I bet you're feeling pretty lonely and forgotten right now, huh?" asked Makoto, putting her arm around Melina. Melina could only nod and wipe more tears from her eyes. A sharp whistle made Melina and Makoto look up.

"Alright, everyone! Good game! At least no-one else got hurt," called Usagi, glancing over at Melina and smiling, before gathering up the coloured balls again.

"How're you feeling now, Melina?" Makoto asked, helping Melina to her feet. Melina took an uncertain step forward, before smiling at Makoto.

"I'm feeling much better now, thanks, Makoto. Thanks for letting me talk to you," Melina said, wiping her eyes one more time before handing the hanky back. Makoto smiled back.

"That's great. I'm glad you're feeling better. Here," Makoto said, taking out a scrap of paper and a pen. She scrawled some numbers down on the paper before handing it to Melina. "My phone number. Just in case you need to talk some more."

"Wow! Thanks!" Melina said, smiling even more.

"OK! Time to go back to your classroom, Miss Kaiou asked us to take you guys back at 2:30, and it's 2:25 now, so let's hustle!" Usagi shouted, leading the class out the gate. Melina and Makoto brought up the rear, Makoto hugging Melina with one arm.

The class travelled back to the classroom in this way, and found it extremely dark inside. The rest of the class dashed into the classroom, while Melina and Makoto stopped at the doorway. _Why is it so dark in our classroom? _Melina wondered. Makoto smiled and gave Melina a gentle push into the room, then flipped on the light.

"SURPRISE!!! Happy Birthday, Melina!" shouted the class, who were gathered with Miss Kaiou on one side of the classroom. Melina looked around to see a large table with lots of party food, not to mention the rainbow of streamers and balloons adorning the walls. Melina's eyes filled with tears once again, but this time they were tears of joy.

"I tought you guys had all forgotten my birthday! Melina said. Miss Kaiou stepped forward took Melina's hand and guided her to the food table, where a huge chocolate cake decorated with 12 gold candles stood waiting. Melina wiped her eyes and blew out the candles, then Miss Kaiou handed her a knife to cut the cake with. Melina smiled around at everyone, especially at Makoto and Usagi, who were standing at the side of the room, and at Hannah and David, who were grinning happily from the front of the group. Melina gently pressed the knife into the cake and touched the bottom, causing much chatter from the girls in the class.

"Oooh, you touched the bottom, Melina! Now you gotta kiss the nearest boy!"

"David! David's the nearest! You gotta kiss David!"

"You're gonna kiss David?!? Are you crazy?"

"Now, now, Melina doesn't have to kiss David if she doesn't want to," said Miss Kaiou, smiling. Inside, Melina was screaming, _Of course I want to kiss David!!! Doesn't everyone know that already?!?_

"How about me kissing the birthday girl instead of her kissing me?" David said loudly, smiling. Melina almost fainted at that. The whole class went deadly silent as David walked to Melina's side.

"Happy Birthday, Melina," David whispered into Melina's ear, before planting a gentle kiss on her cheek. Melina could only giggle dazedly at that. David rejoined the group as fierce whispering erupted form the class.

"Melina, would you like to open your presents now?" Miss Kaiou asked, taking out a knife and cutting up the cake. Melina nodded.

"OK, before I give Melina the one from all of us, is there anyone who wants to give a present just from you?" Miss Kaiou asked.

"Yes," said David. Everyone, including Melina, looked around at hm.

"Shall I go first, then?" David asked, smiling. Miss Kaiou nodded, and David took a small, flat box from his locker.

"Happy Birthday, Melina," he said, holding the box out. Melina took it and opened it gently. Inside was a beautiful white and gold brooch with a large, golden sun in the middle.

"Oh, wow! This is beautiful! Thank-you, David!" said Melina, picking up the brooch and fastening it to the front of her uniform.

"That's OK. And, Melina?"

"Yes, David?"

"Would you like to be my girlfriend?" David whispered. Melina stopped dead, her heart pounding in her ears.

"R-really? Y-you mean it, David?"

"Yeah, I mean it. I love you, Melina," David said, wrapping his arms around her. Melina went to push him away because all her classmates were watching, but suddenly, she realised that she didn't care about any of that anymore. All she cared about was David, and David didn't seem to care about all the people there. They stood there sharing the most electric kiss that Melina had ever experienced, with the rest of the class whispering around them, and Makoto and Usagi smiling happily. After what seemed like an eternity and a split second at the same time, they parted, and stood side by side, hand in hand while Miss Kaiou finished cutting the cake.

"OK, does anyone else have a present?" Miss Kaiou asked.

"Yeah, I do, but I'll wait until you've given Melina the present from the entire class before I give her mine," said Hannah, smiling. Several other students said, "Same here." Miss Kaiou nodded and took a large, brightly decorated box with gold ribbon round it from behind the food table. When Melina looked closer, she could see several holes in the sides of the box.

"We checked with your Mum, and she said it was OK for us to get you this," said Miss Kaiou, smiling. Melina removed the ribbon and gently opened the box to find a ginger kitten curled up asleep.

"Oh! It's so gorgeous!" cried Melina, reaching in and gently lifting out the kitten, which uttered a small 'mew' at being woken.

"She's 6 months old, and she doesn't have a name yet, so you can call her whatever you like," said Miss Kaiou, smiling.

"Gee, thanks!" Melina said, cuddling the kitten, which opened its eyes and looked blearily up at Melina, before uttering another small 'mew' and cuddling up to Melina. Melina smiled lovingly at her, before placing her gently back in the box. When she looked up again, almost half the class had presents in their hands, including Hannah, who was holding a large white cat carrier with a gold bow on the handle. The other presents turned out to be things for the kitten too: a blanket, food and water bowls, and a LOT of cat toys.

"Gee, anyone'd think it was Sunshine's birthday instead of mine," said Melina looking at the piles of cat things and giggling.

"Sunshine? Who's that?" asked Hannah.

"My kitty, of course," smiled Melina, giggling and picking up her kitten again. Sunshine opened her eyes and looked at up at Melina, purring upon finding herself in her arms again.

"Come and get cake, everyone!" said Miss Kaiou, smiling. Melina placed Sunshine back in the box and hurried over to get cake. The class was so distracted by the party that no-one noticed the golden sun shape that flared momentarily on Sunshine's forehead, nor did they notice the audible gasp that emanated from her lips.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

**Author's Notes: **Oooh, now there's something! What do you guys think of my fic so far? I know it's long, but I hope you like it! I would love to hear your feelings about Melina so far. I tried to get Melina's character as close to the one I have in my head. Does she seem a little unstable, or just kind of shy, lonely and confused? I'll try and get the next few chapters up as quickly as possible, but I can't promise anything because my daily schedule changes all the time (I **hate** that!) Please review!


	2. The Music and The Cats

Hey everyone! I'm so flattered that you guys love my story so far! I can't tell you how happy I am that my story is liked by so many of you! Imagine! People thinking that _lil' ol' me_ is a _Professional Writer!_ Everyone, I am definitely not a professional writer, I'm just a young adult with a highly active imagination and a want to share my ideas with all of you.

Oh, and I'm sorry I'm a little late with chapter 2, Year 12 is kickin' my butt!

Anyway, enough chit-chat, on with the story!

Disclaimer: However much I weep and whine,

Sailor Moon rights shall never be mine. (sob...)

* * *

Melina smiled happily on the bus ride home, thinking about how wonderful the party had been. Sunshine, the brooch, Makoto and Usagi, David... But as Melina thought of all the wonderful things that had happened, one thing kept floating through her mind: her Mum had not said "Happy Birthday". Melina clung to the hope that either her Mum was making the surprise from the class better, or she had a surprise of her own. The bus pulled up at Melina's house, and she gathered up the presents scattered over the seat beside her. Quickly shoving them back in her bag, she grabbed Sunshine's cat carrier and jumped off the bus. Running up the path to her house, she burst through the door to find her mum and little brother Michael waiting for her.

"Happy Birthday, Melina!" they chorused, smiling.

"Thanks, Mum. Thanks, Michael. I thought you guys had forgotten my birthday, 'cause you didn't say happy birthday this morning. I figured there must be a reason why you didn't," said Melina, smiling and putting down her bags and Sunshine's cat carrier.

"Haha, that'd be impossible with you going on about it the way you have for the last two weeks," smiled Michael, holding out an envelope and a present.

"There's actually two reasons why I didn't say Happy Birthday to you this morning. The first was that you were late, and I didn't want you to miss the bus," Smiled Mrs Pattini. Melina took the envelope from Michael and opened it to find a white, hand-made card with gold glitter and a big gold "Happy Birthday" on it. Inside, her mother had written, "Dear Melina, Happy 13th Birthday to my special girl. Love from Mum and Michael." The present contained a pretty red cat collar with a bell.

"What's the second reason?" Melina asked, placing the card on top of her bag and getting Sunshine out of the cat carrier to put the collar on.

"Go put your things away. We're going to go get your present!" said Mrs Pattini, smiling and petting Sunshine.

"Going to get my present? What, you didn't have time to get one before today?" Melina asked, passing Sunshine to Michael, who was begging silently to hold the kitten.

"No, we known what we're going to give you, we just thought that you might like to-" Mrs Pattini began

"What's her name?" Michael cut in. Melina smiled and fastened the collar in place.

"Her name's Sunshine, and we don't have to worry about buying her any toys. My class gave me enough toys to last her a lifetime!" Melina giggled. She turned to her mum. "You thought I might like to... What?" Melina asked, taking Sunshine back and putting her on the floor.

"We thought you might like to choose your present from a few different designs," Mrs Pattini said, pulling her keys out of her pocket. "So let's hustle! Get your school clothes off, lock Sunshine in your room, and we'll go get your present!" Melina smiled, swung her bag over her shoulder, picked Sunshine up and raced up the stairs. After dumping her bag on the floor and Sunshine on her bed, she quickly threw on her favourite white and gold t-shirt, matching shorts and a pair of white runners, she dashed out of her bedroom and slammed the door before Sunshine could escape.

* * *

Sunshine sat back on the floor, rubbing her nose with a paw. _Great,_ she thought, as she heard the front door slam from downstairs. _Now how am I going to follow Melina and make sure my suspicions about her are correct?_ Sunshine turned around and jumped up onto the window ledge just in time to see Mrs Pattini driving out of the driveway with Melina and Michael sitting in the back seat of the car. Sunshine watched carefully as the car drove up the street and disappeared round a corner, before looking up at the window frame's latch. A smile crept across her face, and with three leaps and a swish of her tail, Sunshine was running up the street in the direction that the Pattinis had gone.

* * *

"Golf?" Melina asked as they pulled up in front of Tees and Things, a small golf store.

"No, silly, _that's_ where we're going," laughed Mrs Pattini, pointing at the store next door.

"'Instrumentals'? ...OH! You heard me talking about how I wanted to learn flute, didn't you?" Melina asked, her stomach bubbling with excitement. Mrs Pattini smiled and nodded. Melina grappled for the doorhandle, before bursting out of the car and running eagerly into the music store, with Mrs Pattini and Michael following close behind.

* * *

_Where has she got to?_ Sunshine wondered, running down the street and trying to sense Melina's location. She slowed down as she felt a tingle of energy from a music store, and glanced in the window to see Melina wearing an excited expression and examining a silver flute with a gold spot on one end. Sunshine sighed with relief at having found Melina, then her silver eyes widened as she became aware that someone was watching her from across the street. She looked around to see a midnight blue cat standing on top of a car. Sunshine wasn't sure what was stranger about the cat: the colour of its fur, the fact that it had its bright orange eyes narrowed and its head to one side as it stared at her, or the perfect crescent moon shape on its forehead. Sunshine stared back at the cat, who, for some reason, looked strangely familiar. Sunshine felt a tingle creep up her spine, and turned to see Melina's family about to exit the shop. Sunshine dashed under a nearby car just as Melina opened the door, carrying the silver flute with the gold spot on the end. From her position under the car, Sunshine overheard some of the conversation that Melina was having with the boy called Michael who looked so much like Melina.

"...don't know why you had to get that weird one," Michael said. "I mean, there were so many really awesome ones. Like that black one with the skulls on the finger pads, that looked really cool."

"I don't really know why I picked this one, all right? If you must know, i-it was like it was calling to me or something," said Melina, hugging her flute to her chest. Michael looked at Melina like she was crazy, before they climbed into their car and drove away. Sunshine suddenly remembered that she was supposed to be in Melina's bedroom, and dashed out after the car, not noticing that the other cat had vanished.

* * *

Sunshine arrived home just seconds after the front door closed. She jumped up into the tree and back into Melina's room to hear Melina climbing the stairs. Sunshine quickly and quietly shut the window after her, before leaping onto Melina's white and gold dresser and staring at her reflection, as if she could disentangle the thoughts running through her head.

"I'm coming to tea, Mum, I'm just putting my flute in my room and letting Sunshine out!" Melina called, opening her bedroom door, flute in hand. She stopped dead when she saw Sunshine sitting bolt upright in front of the mirror, looking strangely human with a thoughtful expression on her face. Sunshine felt a familiar tingle of energy run along her spine, and, tugging herself from her tumultuous thoughts, turned to find Melina staring at her wide-eyed. The two stood still, staring at each other, one with thoughtful consideration of what (she suspected) could be one of the Silver Millennium Senshi, the other with shock at finding a cat staring in a mirror.

"Melina!" her mother shouted, snapping both Melina and Sunshine out of their trance-like thoughts, "It can't take you this long to put a flute down and let out a cat!"

"Yeah, hurry up, Buttercup!" her brother quipped before bursting into a fit of giggles. Melina snorted and shook her head. Her silly little brother cracked the worst jokes. She placed her flute on the bed, threw a curious glance at Sunshine and then turned and hurried downstairs.

* * *

Sunshine listened to the quiet conversation and squabbling from downstairs for a moment, then she leapt over next the flute and nudged it with a paw, examining its intricate gold design. She continued examining it all the way down the length of the flute, where she found the gold spot that she had noticed from earlier. Sunshine looked closer and found it to be an intricate golden sun shape. As this realization hit her, the sun shape flared on her forehead as it had earlier in the day, only this time, it did not fade. Sunshine gasped again as she caught sight of herself in the mirror, and knew that she had finally fully awakened. Now if only she could awaken her Senshi! _My Senshi_, Sunshine thought, her mind drifting back to the Silver Millennium. _My Princess. Dear little Amaterasu..._

* * *

"_MARS!!!! Would you STOP tormenting poor Amaterasu?!?! You know how much she hates fire!!!" Princess Serenity shouted at the dark-haired princess who was holding a dancing flame in the palm of her gloved hand. Sailor Mars pouted playfully and extinguished the flame, throwing a scornful look at the young brunette princess and her ragged, half-burnt princess dress before retreating into the palace. Princess Serenity stood with her arms crossed, watching her go, while Sailor Venus helped shakily her to her feet. Sailor Mercury immediately began examining Amaterasu's smoking shoulder, causing Amaterasu to flinch away in pain._

"_No, don't, I'm fine, it's nothing-" Mercury ignored all of Amaterasu's protests and gently cleaned and bandaged the red-raw shoulder. Amaterasu continued to protest until she passed out from exhaustion and pain: exhaustion because she had had to dodge and weave away from the flames that Mars threw playfully at her, and pain because of the number of flames that she had not been able to dodge. Sunshine had watched the whole thing from the balcony above, rather embarrassed that this pitiful, whimpering girl was supposed to become the most powerful Senshi of the universe, even more powerful that Serenity or Galaxia... Or so Sailor Pluto said. Right now, it didn't seem like the girl was _ever _going to become even a reasonably good Senshi, let alone the most powerful one. So much for training her to be prepared for anything. Sunshine shook her head and retreated into the palace. She needed to think of a better way to train Amaterasu. For if Pluto was right, if Amaterasu didn't get control of her Senshi powers soon... the universe could be destroyed._

* * *

_The universe could be destroyed. _That was the thought that drifted through Sunshine's head as she sat staring at the flute on the bed in front of her. _The universe could be destroyed._

_Well, I'll just have to make sure that that doesn't happen,_ thought Sunshine determinedly. _I will help Amaterasu control her Senshi powers. I WILL._ Sunshine was startled out of her thoughts by Melina, who picked up the flute and began experimenting with the instrument. Sunshine gritted her teeth several times as Melina hit harsh, screechy notes. Finally she couldn't stand it any longer.

"No offence, Miss Melina, but you're really not very good at playing the flute," Sunshine said, her beautiful silky voice making the flute fall from Melina's fingers in shock. Melina stared at Sunshine for what seemed like an eternity, before letting out an ear-piercing shriek. Sunshine covered her ears with her paws to block out the sound. Melina's shrieking was quickly replaced by the sound of feet running up the stairs.

"Melina! What's wrong, honey?" asked Mrs Pattini, busrting into Melina's room, followed closely by Michael.

"Huh? Oh- Uh, n-nothing, Mum. There was a spider in here, but Sunshine killed it and threw it out the window," lied Melina. Michael looked disappointed and left as Mrs Pattini smiled and ruffled her daughter's hair.

"Oh, Melina, you're such a scaredy cat sometimes," said Mrs Pattini, giving Sunshine a pat before leaving and closing the door gently behind her. Melina turned and stared at Sunshine apprehensively. When Sunshine finally noticed her staring, she blinked at Melina.

"What?" Melina could only stare back.

* * *

"Hey, Luna, what's up?" asked Usagi, flicking on her communicator.

"I just saw a strange ginger cat," the midnight blue cat replied curtly.

"So? What's wrong with cats being strange? You are! You're one of the only two cats that can actually talk!" said Usagi, giggling. Luna glared at her.

"This isn't funny! That cat had a very strange aura. I've never sensed one like it before! It was almost like it was half developed, and the cat doesn't know who it is!" Luna snapped.

"So... What, you think that cat could be another Negaverse Creep in disguise?" Usagi asked, suddenly concerned.

"I don't know. I've never seen a youma or a general disguising their aura before, but we should keep an eye on it anyway. Tell the others, would you?" said Luna, before the screen went blank. Usagi sighed before pressing the Mars, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter buttons on her communicator.

"What's up, Usagi?" asked Makoto. The three other girls, one with blue hair, one with purple hair and one blonde, nodded in agreement to Makoto's question and looked expectantly at Usagi.

"Luna just called. She says she saw a strange ginger cat, and that it's aura was different to any that she'd sensed before. She wasn't sure if it's from the Negaverse or not, but she said to keep an eye out, just in case," Usagi said into the communicator. The four girls nodded silently, then the images disappeared. Usagi sighed again and slipped her communicator into her bag. She'd better get to the temple for the scout meeting. She knew that Luna would skitz at her if she was late again, not to mention Mars. Mars would probably fry half my hair off if I'm late again, Usagi thought. She stood up from the park bench where she was sitting and gutsed the rest of her icecream, before throwing the wrapper in the bin and walking towards the park gates. She just got there when her communicator beeped again.

"Usagi! There's a Youma at the arcade!" Makoto said, turning the communicator to display an image of Motoki, one of Usagi and Makoto's friends, holding a broom and swatting furiously at a huge, blog-like youma that didn't appear to be feeling the hits, as it was too busy using one of the Sailor V games to drain the energy of a young blonde boy playing furiously on the game. Usagi nodded, switched off her communicator and leapt up into a nearby tree to transform. There was a shout of "Moon Prism Power!" and a flash of pink and white, and then Sailor Moon jumped out of the tree and sprinted down the street faster that a racing car.

* * *

"So, how long have you been able to talk?" Melina asked Sunshine in a low voice, spinning around in her desk chair to face Sunshine. Sunshine smiled, glad that Melina had finally accepted that she could talk after an hour of spinning around in her desk chair and staring into space.

"I only just learnt how," said Sunshine, turning from staring out the window to look at Melina.

"And is that when you got that sun shape on your head?" Melina asked. Sunshine looked at herself in the mirror again, smiling at the solarian symbol that she had not had since the end of the Silver Millennium.

"You're a smart one to notice that. Yes, I did get my sun back when I regained my voice," said Sunshine, her smile as bright as her name. Melina looked a little confused.

"Got it back? What do you mean? You had it before?" Melina asked. Sunshine nodded, her smile fading as she thought about the memory that she had regained. _I'm sure Melina is my little Amaterasu_, Sunshine thought, studying Melina's face carefully. _She looks so much like her!_

"What's the matter? Do you want to talk about it?" Melina asked, noticing that she had heard practically the same words from Makoto earlier.

"Yes, I will tell you about it. Someday. It's too early to tell you about it yet. But don't worry," added Sunshine, as Melina opened her mouth to protest, "I have a very strong feeling that that day is not far off. Just be patient." Melina shut her mouth again and sighed, accepting that when the time came for Sunshine to tell Melina what had happened, she would tell her everything. She got out of her seat and opened the window, staring into the darkening night. Sunshine sat silently on the bed watching her, when she suddenly felt a surge of energy flow down her spine, something she had not felt since that fateful day at the end of the Silver Millennium. _Youma!_ That was youma energy she was sensing, and from the feel of it, it was a very, very strong youma. Sunshine looked in the direction that the feeling was coming from, then, as she looked back at Melina, her insides turned cold. Melina was still staring out the window, but her eyes were glazed, almost as if her mind had disconnected from her body. She pulled her flute, almost automatically, from the pocket that she had jammed it in, but this time, instead of the screechy notes from before, Melina began to play a beautiful, hauntingly sad melody. And as she played, golden sun shapes began shooting out of the end like a firework. The shapes enveloped Melina, and with a flash of golden light, she vanished. Sunshine could only stare blankly at the spot where she had been, in shock at both Melina's disappearance and at the tune she had been playing. _Amaterasu's lullaby..._

* * *

Author's Notes: Find out what's happened to Melina in the next chapter!


	3. Youma!

Konnichiwa, mina-san! I'm doing well, 'cause this is the second chapter I've posted this week! Hope you like it!

Arigatou for the few lovely reviews that I have received, and everyone else, I want to know what you think. Is my story really that bad that you won't even review? I'd love to hear from you all! *Puppy dog eyes* Anyways, let's see what's happened to Melina, shall we?

Oh, and please note that if you see this:

***

It means that the point of view has changed, but it is still meant to be in the same scene. I did this 'cause the point of view switches around a fair bit when you get near the end of this chapter.

Disclaimer:

**Sparrowflyaway:** Hey, Motoki-kun, could I have a Choc-Caramel Swirl Milkshake and the rights to Sailor Moon?

**Motoki: **Sorry, Sparrow-san, but I can only give you the shake. You see, I don't own the rights to Sailor Moon either...

**Sparrowflyaway:** Noooo!!! (sips milkshake between sobs)

* * *

Melina felt extremely disappointed that Sunshine was not going to tell her anything yet.

"Don't worry, I have a very strong feeling that that day is not far off. Just be patient." Sunshine had said. _Yeah, easy for you to say,_ thought Melina. _Having to wait isn't that easy, though._ She could feel Sunshine's eyes on her as she watched a shooting star fly across the sky. _Make a wish_, Melina thought to herself, closing her eyes. _I wish that Sunshine would tell me what was wrong_. She opened her eyes and stared out at the dark sky. Suddenly, Melina felt a sharp pain in her head, but before she could cry out, she had a curious feeling, like she was being thrown to the back of her own mind, and then she began to feel her body move. She tried to stop herself, but it was like someone else was controlling her body. Melina saw her hand pick up her flute, place it to her lips, and then she felt the air draining from her lungs as her body began to play the flute. And as the beautiful, sad music drifted through her ears and the sun shapes flew out of the end of the flute like fireworks, Melina could feel herself drifting off to sleep…

* * *

Melina jolted awake to find herself standing on the top of a Sailor V video game in a corner of Crown arcade. She glanced down at the flute in her hand, a little pleased to find that she could move again, but confused as to why she was here. A bolt of lightning hit the wall beside her, making her jump, and she looked up again to find a large, blob-like Youma throwing orange slime at the five girls around it. The girls (A/N: The Senshi, obviously) were darting around the slime and attacking the Youma with fire, lightning, bubbles, yellow beams of light and a boomerang-like tiara. Melina stared at the Youma in horror, just managing to leap out of the way as a large blob of slime flew in her direction, hitting the wall directly behind where she had been standing. Melina landed hard on her side on the floor, staggered to her feet and jumped again, this time the blob of slime going between her legs. She darted behind a game machine, gasping for breath as she peered around it.

"This thing's too strong, Sailor Moon! What'll we do?!?" the one in red shouted, before twirling around and shooting another fireball at the Youma, which roared and flung a huge glob of slime at her. The slime scored a direct hit, throwing her against the wall, pinning her there and beginning to drain her energy.

"Sailor Mars!!! No!!" cried the girl with meatball-like hair, (the one the Melina thought looked a lot like Usagi) before she was hit from behind with another blob of slime, which did the same thing to her as it did to Mars.

"Sailor Moon!!!" the other three girls chorused, before, one by one, they too were pinned to the wall and their energy drained. Melina bit her lip, praying for a miracle. And, as if in answer to her prayers, her brooch began to pulse with golden light. Melina looked down at it in amazement, wondering what was happening. Then she was thrown back into her mind again, and she felt herself walking out into the open to face the Youma. Melina was screaming with horror inside, but as her mind was not connected to her body anymore, the scream did not escape her lips. Melina felt her face contort into a look of fury and determination, and then her brooch gave off a huge wave of golden light. The Youma shrieked and exploded into dust, the orange slime doing the same a second after. Melina, feeling herself connect with her body again, sighed happily as the Senshi climbed to their feet. A hiss reached Melina's ears, and she looked down at the flute in her hand, which was hissing and emitting golden sun shapes again. The sun shapes surrounded her, turning her world gold. She closed her eyes and waited. After a few seconds, the light faded, and she opened her eyes to find herself back in her room, standing by the bed, with Sunshine pacing back and forth on the bed.

* * *

The Senshi whirled round when they heard the hissing from the corner, and were just in time to see a ball of golden light disappear with a flash.

"I couldn't see very well behind the glowing, but that person sure looked a lot like Melina," said the one in green, looking at Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon nodded slowly.

"Yeah, you're right, Jupiter. I'm pretty sure it _was_ Melina," Sailor Moon said.

"You two know that person?!?" demanded Luna, walking out from behind the counter. Another cat, looking like a white version of Luna, emerged too. Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Moon nodded. Luna frowned.

"Well, you'd better keep an eye on her. She looks familiar, and that golden glow is very strange," Luna said.

"Well, she must be on our side, otherwise we would have gotten hurt by that light like the Youma did," said Jupiter, turning and looking at all the piles of dust coating the machines and the floor. She caught sight of a figure under one of the piles, and dragged the person out. It was Motoki.

"Motoki-kun! Motoki, Motoki, are you OK?!? Speak to me!!!" cried Jupiter, shaking him gently. He groaned and spat out some of the dust.

"Eeew, Youma Dust Bunnies!!!" shrieked Sailor Moon, backing away. The Senshi laughed at Sailor Moon's disgust, while Luna and the other cat shook their heads.

"Anyway, Luna's right, you guys. That girl could be Zoisite in disguise," the white cat said.

"Oh, chill out, Artemis, I'm sure she's not," said the girl in orange.

"I hope you're right, Venus. I hope you're right," said Artemis.

* * *

"...And then the sun shapes surrounded me, and I found myself back here," Melina said, concluding the story of what had happened. Sunshine sat silently on Melina's bed, listening to her story with a thoughtful expression on her face. "S-Sunshine, do you know? Do you know why this happened?" Melina asked timidly. Sunshine turned to her and sighed.

"I have my suspiscions. Everything is pointing to it, but... but it just seems so impossible, I don't see how.." Sunshine said, before a look of realisation appeared on her face. "...Oh, of course! Queen Serenity must have used her Crystal."

"Queen Serenity? Crystal? What are you talking about?" Melina asked. Sunshine shook her head, turning away from Melina's inquisitive look.

"I'll be back soon, I have to go do something for a while," Sunshine said, before jumping onto the windowsill.

"But-" Melina started, but Sunshine had already gone. Melina sighed and looked down at her flute, still clutched tightly in her hand. She held it up to the light to examine it, and a single sun shape flew out of the end. She saw it, and threw it onto the bed as though scalded.

* * *

Sunshine sprinted up the darkening street, hardly looking where she was going. _She IS Amaterasu, I KNOW it!_ she thought. _It all fits! Queen Serenity must have used the Silver Crystal, and-_ Sunshine's thoughts were cut short, and she skidded to a stop as another memory began to emerge in her mind, this time one that she already had, but could only faintly recall...

* * *

"_No!!!! Serenity!!!! My baby girl!!!! NO!!!!" cried Queen Serenity, clutching her chest as a searing pain spread across it, meaning only one thing: Princess Selene was dead. Queen Serenity ran through the halls of the palace, searching for her daughter. She quickly found the demolished courtyard where the bodies of Serenity and the Prince of Earth, Endymion, lay in a pool of blood. Standing above them and cackling with glee was Queen Beryl, who looked up and grinned evilly at Serenity._

"_Serenity! Endymion! No!!"_

"_Well, look who it is. Queen Serenity. What are you going to do now, Your Highness?" asked Beryl, sneering at Serenity._

"_Just this!" shouted Serenity, holding up her Crescent Moon Wand, the Silver Crystal glowing brightly. Waves of silvery white light flowed over the entire castle, throwing a screaming Beryl backwards into a portal that sealed itself behind her. The waves of light reached the battlefield (which by now had expanded to include the entirety of the Moon's surface), where they paralysed the Negaverse's seven Shadow Warriors and drew them into the Silver Crystal, which let out a huge burst of light and then shattered, the pieces reforming into seven crystals, each one a different colour of the rainbow. The burst of light generated by the crystal spread over the entire castle, enclosing the bodies of Serenity, Endymion and all of Selene's court in glowing bubbles, which flew up into the sky with the seven Rainbow Crystals and vanished in a flash of white light. Sunshine stood watching in horror as Amaterasu's body drifting away with the rest, then turned just in time to see Serenity slump against the remains of a stone pillar, looking extremely drained and sick, but calm. Out of the corner of her eye, Sunshine noticed Luna and Artemis peering timidly into the now silent courtyard._

"_Queen Serenity!!!" they cried when they saw her. Sunshine walked out behind the cats, tears rolling down her furry cheeks._

"_Oh, Luna, Artemis, Sunshine, you three were always so faithful to us. I'd like you to accompany the girls and Endymion to the future. They will need your guidance when their Senshi powers awaken," said Serenity weakly._

"_But, Your Highness, how do you know that the Senshi in them will awaken?" asked Luna worriedly. Serenity smiled weakly._

"_Because the crystal's power will not banish the Negaverse forever, not when it is separated into the seven Rainbow Crystals. And when Beryl and her generals escape, the Senshi in the girls will sense that and awaken, and they will be called to defeat the Negaverse," Serenity said. She turned to Sunshine. "Sunshine, Amaterasu's Senshi powers will be particularly difficult to awaken, since they hadn't awoken in this time. You must work hard. In time, I'm sure that she will finally awaken, and you will be able to defeat Beryl for good."_

"_S-Serenity... I... I'm sorry. For not training her enough to awaken her senshi powers," said __Sunshine, looking down._

"_You did very well, Sunshine. I and her mother would have been very disappointed if you had gone any further," said Serenity, smiling a little. "Take care, all of you. I'm grateful for everything that you've done for the kingdom," she said looking at all three of the cats. The Crescent Moon Wand in her hand began to glow softly, and, as Luna, Artemis and Sunshine drifted away in bubbles, they watched Serenity's eyes close._

"_Queen Serenity!!!!!!" the three cats cried as the Crescent Moon Wand slipped from Serenity's hand. The bubbles were surrounded by a bright white light, and the three cats fell into a deep sleep as the bubbles drifted through time and space._

* * *

Sunshine stared up at the half hidden moon drifting through the night sky.

"Oh, Serenity," said Sunshine in dismay, looking at the craters that were probably the only evidence that a great battle had taken place there. A tear rolled down Sunshine's cheek as she remembered the immense sacrifice Serenity had made, and her final words to Sunshine. _"Amaterasu's Senshi powers will be particularly difficult to awaken."_

"I won't fail you, Your Highness. I will awaken Amaterasu's senshi powers and train her to use them wisely, and then she and the others can accompany the princess, and they can defeat Beryl," Sunshine vowed.

"Sunshine...? A-Are you OK?" said a voice timidly from behind her. Sunshine turned to find Melina crouched down in the road not far from her, looking rather concerned. Sunshine's eyes filled with tears and she stumbled towards Melina, and just one word echoed around her blank, tear-flooded mind: _Amaterasu..._

* * *

Melina walked in the front door carrying Sunshine, fast asleep, both of them soaked to the bone from the rain that had started on her way home.

"Melina! What were you doing out there in a thunderstorm?!?" scolded Mrs Pattini, grabbing a towel from the linen cupboard and throwing it over Melina's head.

"It was Sunshine, Mum," said Melina, her voice muffled under the towel. She pulled it off her head before continuing. "She jumped out the window and went running up the street, and I couldn't just let her run off alone. She wouldn't be able to find her way back!"

"Oh. Well, Sunshine, I hope you've learnt your lesson. Don't you go running out into thunderstorms again," said Mrs Pattini, looking at the bundle of fur half hidden under the towel.

"Shh, Mum, she's sleeping," said Melina, walking towards the stairs. She stopped halfway up them and turned. "And it's hardly a thunderstorm, Mum," she added, before running the rest of the way upstairs. She spread the towel on her bedroom floor and placed Sunshine on top of it, before grabbing her own towel from the bathroom. She shut the window quietly, changed into her pyjamas (white with gold sun shapes on them) and wrapped her towel around her hair. She gently lifted Sunshine up, and, being careful not to wake her, dried her golden fur. After Sunshine was settled into her cat basket in the corner of Melina's bedroom, Melina climbed into bed and switched off her lamp, drifting almost immediately into a deep sleep.

* * *

The clock on Melina's bedside table read 2:30 when Sunshine woke to find Melina thrashing around in her bed, sweating profusely and groaning. _What is going on?_ wondered Sunshine, watching Melina kick and thrash. In reality, Melina was trapped in her usual nightmare.

***

"Melina! Oh no! MELINA!!!"

"Melina! Melina, hang in there, please don't... Come on Melina, stay with us!"

"Melina, can you hear us? Melina?!?"

"Melina, I-I can't do anything, it's too late..."

"Wake up, Melina, please!"

"It'll be OK, Melina, you'll be fine, we'll get help, and everything'll be all right..."

Through the black mist in the dream, two faces came into focus for a moment: Usagi and Makoto. As their faces faded back into the darkness, a bright golden light surrounded her.

***

Sunshine looked around quickly as a golden glow (the same one Melina was seeing in her dream)lit up the room, and found Melina's brooch giving off golden light, exactly the way that Melina had described. Sunshine jumped up onto Melina's bedside table next to it and stared down at the sun shape on the brooch, which now looked like liquid gold.

***

The golden light filling Melina's dream dissolved the black mist for a moment, and Melina could just make out six glowing golden spheres floating away, and a tall lady kneeling beside her clasping her hand. Melina couldn't see the lady's face, as her long ginger hair covered most of her face, and the remainder of the black mist hid the rest. Melina suddenly began to glow with golden light, and then she jolted awake.

***

Sunshine was still staring into the swirling depths of the brooch when Melina twitched quite violently, then sat up in bed, suddenly wide awake.

"Melina? Melina, it's OK. You had a nightmare. Calm down," said Sunshine, jumping onto the bed and placing her paw on Melina's hand. Melina jumped a little when she felt the light touch on her hand, but relaxed when she saw that it was just Sunshine.

"What happened, Melina? Talk to me," said Sunshine, looking up at Melina with concern. Melina just shook her head and picked up her brooch, which stopped glowing when she touched it. She held it close to her, trying to drive the horrid dream from her mind. Then she remembered that it was different from normal.

"Usagi! Makoto!" she choked out, staring at the opposite wall.

"Who are they?" asked Sunshine.

"Two girls from the high school. They came and played Dodgeball with us," said Melina, still staring straight ahead. Sunshine nodded and stared out the window as she remembered the two taller girls. "Dunno what they were doing in my nightmare, though," Melina added.

"Maybe it was just that? Just a nightmare?" Sunshine asked, sitting down in Melina's lap. Melina just sat there stroking Sunshine for a while, before she said,

"No, I've been having it for months, but that's the first time anything happened in it besides voices voices drifting through the mist." Sunshine looked up at Melina, and was surprised to find tears in her eyes.

"What's the matter, Melina? Please tell me," Sunshine asked gently. Melina wiped her eyes with her pyjama sleeve and gulped.

"I... I think that... That I... I'm... D-dying in my nightmares... And I... I think that... The dream might... Might be my f-future," Melina said slowly, her breathing becoming rather shallow. Sunshine's eyes widened. _No wonder the poor girl's so distraught,_ thought Sunshine. _She thinks she's going to die!_

"Melina, I'm sure it was nothing. Just go on back to sleep now," said Sunshine, tugging the brooch gently from Melina's grip and placing it on the bedside table. Melina nodded and sniffed, then snuggled down underneath the blankets. Sunshine jumped off the bed and curled up in her cat basket, staring out at the starry sky. _That dream is very strange,_ thought Sunshine, _and it's got Melina frightened out of her wits, but I'm still sure that she's my little Amaterasu._

"Sunshine?" Melina said timidly, rolling over in bed to look at Sunshine.

"Yes, Melina?" Sunshine asked, sitting up.

"W-would it be OK if you sleep on my bed tonight?" Melina asked quietly. Sunshine smiled a little, then walked over and jumped up on the bed.

"Thank you, Sunshine," whispered Melina, before curling up in a ball. Sunshine stepped around to the other side of the bed and curled up with her back against Melina's. And soon pleasant, dreamless sleep enveloped the two.

* * *

Author's Notes: Phew, what a long day! Three chapters long, in fact. Glad I got that one out of the way, now we can get on to some other exciting stuff! Please, PLEASE review! I really, _really,_ REALLY want to know what you think. I'm really looking forward to writing the next few chapters, 'cause I'm thinking of introducing another new character or two! That's all I'm gonna tell you, so stay tuned!


	4. Ancient Kings and Queens

Konnichiwa, mina-san! I hope you're all having a pleasant time reading my story. I've worked hard to get this chapter up, since it's nearly the school holidays, and I'm going away for a week, which means that I won't have access to the internet, which means that I won't be posting any new chapters in the first week of the school hols! But the good news is, it's a relaxing, do-nothing kind of holiday, which means that I should be able to write at least one or two chapters of my story during that time, and I'll post them the first opportunity I have once we get back. So, without further ado, here's the next chapter!

Disclaimer: If I owned Sailor Moon, I wouldn't be living at home with my restrictive parents. I'd be living in a mansion by the sea, somewhere where it's nice and warm all year round. Plus, I wouldn't have to worry about homework... sigh... That'd be wonderful...

* * *

"Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep..." went Melina's alarm clock at 6:30. Melina reached across and pressed the sleep button, before rolling over in bed. Unfortunately, she rolled over onto Sunshine, who was awake and stretching herself.

"Melina... Melina! You could stand to lose a few kilos, you know. Melina!" complained Sunshine, before sighing and pulling herself, with difficulty, out from under Melina's sleeping form. Sunshine stared at her. _I can't believe this lazy girl is the Princess of the Sun,_ thought Sunshine, before jumping off the bed and walking out the bedroom door. She returned moments later, balancing her water bowl on her head. She smiled and carefully jumped up onto the bed.

"Meliiinaaa... Time to wake up, Princess!" said Sunshine gleefully, before tipping the contents of the water bowl onto Melina's head. Melina sat up abruptly, blinking furiously and shaking the water out of her eyes.

"What the... Sunshine!!!! What did you do that for?!?" shouted Melina, noticing the empty water bowl on the bed beside a grinning Sunshine.

"It's time to get up, my Princess," replied Sunshine with a smile, before grabbing the blankets and pulling them to the floor. Melina frowned at her for a moment, before asking,

"Why are you calling me Princess?" Sunshine faltered, her grin fading. _Whoops,_ she thought, _I said a little too much._

"Sunshine? Please tell me. Why did you call me Princess?" Melina pressed. Sunshine sighed.

"Melina, it's a fairly long story, and we don't have time to discuss it now. I-I'm not really sure I should be telling you at all," said Sunshine, looking away.

"Awww, come on.... Please?" asked Melina, doing her best puppy dog eyes. Sunshine didn't notice; she was too busy watching another memory emerge in her mind...

* * *

"_But Sunshine... I don't feel like Senshi training today... I've got a head cold, remember?" whined Amaterasu, tugging the silk bedclothes out of Sunshine's grasp and curling up beneath them again. Sunshine sighed._

"_Princess, you know that your Senshi form is necessary to help you to break that spirit's hold on you, and return you to the lovely little girl that you used to be," said Sunshine sternly. Amaterasu peeked out from under the blankets with a gleeful twinkle in her icy blue eyes._

"_So what you're saying is, I'm not a lovely little girl now?" asked Amaterasu cheekily, before bursting into a fit of giggles. Sunshine sighed again and left the room. She followed the golden halls of the Solar Palace to the Throne Room. She stopped at the closed doors and knocked, the doors swinging inwards almost immediately. Sunshine stood aside as two Lunarian cats – Luna and Artemis – emerged with happy smiles on their faces. Sunshine watched them go, before walking into the throne room. The tall red-haired man seated on the throne looked up as Sunshine entered the __throne room, a smile spreading over his face._

"_Solaris, I'm so glad to see you again. And you still look as beautiful as ever," he said, moving forward to greet Sunshine._

"_As I said before, King Alexander, it's Sunshine. Solaris no longer exists, she has not existed since..." Sunshine trailed off._

"_I know, since the Blessing Ceremony," finished King Alexander, his smile fading. "Speaking of which, how is Amaterasu doing?" Sunshine sighed._

"_It's not very good news, I'm afraid, my king. She is still as stubborn as a fire donkey, and she has twice the temper when she's denied anything, not to mention the fact that she's still afraid of almost everything besides us," she said, looking up at the king._

"_Well, hopefully the other Senshi of this Solar System can help us," said Alexander thoughtfully._

"_I take it Queen Serenity agreed to let us join the Silver Alliance, then?" Sunshine asked, smiling. Alexander nodded._

"_Shall I ask Queen Serenity if one of the other Senshi could come and help us with Amaterasu's training?" he asked. Sunshine smiled._

"_It is up to you, my king," she said, before bowing and leaving the throne room._

* * *

_Alexander... _thought Sunshine tearfully. Melina looked at her warily.

"S-Sunshine? I-is everything OK?" asked Melina timidly. Sunshine was silent as she thought of her words to Amaterasu and Alexander. _"... training is the only way for you to break that spirit's hold on you, and return you to the lovely little girl that you used to be..." "...It's Sunshine. Solaris no longer exists, she has not existed since..." "I know, since the Blessing Ceremony." What spirit was I talking about? And what was that Blessing Ceremony? What happened to my little Amaterasu? What happened to _me_?!? _Sunshine thought. She felt a gentle tap on her shoulder, and turned to see two icy blue eyes, filled with concern, staring deep into hers. Sunshine reeled back at the similarity between this pair of eyes and those of Amaterasu. Shaking herself mentally, Sunshine grabbed her water bowl and jumped off the bed.

"You'd better hurry up and get ready for school, Melina, you don't want to be late," Sunshine called over her shoulder, walking out the door.

"I'm always late anyways!" said Melina, throwing her dressing gown on over her pyjamas.

* * *

"Morning, Princess! You're up early," said Mrs Pattini, smiling in surprise at her daughter. Melina cringed at the nickname.

"Please don't call me Princess anymore, Mum. It makes me feel weird," said Melina, putting a piece of toast into the toaster.

"Gee, I'm surprised you even know how to use that, Melina," Michael joked, pushing past her to get into the cereal cupboard for a box of Rainbow Rings. Melina and Sunshine both glared at him, then Melina pulled her toast out of the toaster and spread it with butter and caramel topping(the kind you put on ice cream). Mrs Pattini sighed.

"Melina, you really should have something a little healthier for breakfast," said Mrs Pattini, shaking her head.

"But Mum, it's my favourite!" whined Melina in the same tone Sunshine could remember Amaterasu using. Michael emerged from the fridge with the milk carton in his hand, when he tripped over Sunshine, who had mysteriously moved in his path. The milk carton flew out of his hands, headed straight for Melina, who shrieked and covered her head with her hands. Suddenly, thanks to a small flash of gold from Sunshine's mark, the milk carton bounced off the wall behind Melina and hit Michael on the head, exploding on impact and drenching the poor boy in milk. Melina took one look at Michael and burst out laughing, accidentally knocking the box of Rainbow Rings off the bench and covering Michael's black pyjamas in the sweet, sticky cereal. That just made Melina laugh even harder.

"Go upstairs and have a shower, Michael. I'll get this mess cleaned up," said Mrs Pattini, smothering a grin. Michael trudged out of the kitchen grumbling. Mrs Pattini and Melina looked at each other and burst into fresh laughter.

* * *

"Bye Mum, have a nice day!" called Melina, walking happily out the front door wearing a long white dress with gold embroidering around the neckline, her brooch pinned to the middle of the bow on the front. Sunshine sat on the doorstep watching her, wondering whether to follow, when someone grabbed her from behind.

"No, Sunshine, you can't go to school. You stay in Melina's room until she comes back, OK?" said Mrs Pattini cheerfully, carrying Sunshine upstairs to Melina's bedroom and shutting her inside. Sunshine flicked her tail in annoyance and jumped onto the window ledge to watch Melina get on the bus. She watched the bus drive off, and then when Mrs Pattini left five minutes later, Sunshine opened the window and ran down the street.

* * *

"Wow, Melina, you look great today," whispered David as Melina walked to her seat. Melina sat down and gave him her prettiest smile. And so the day began just like any other: announcements and then lessons. But no-one noticed Sunshine arrive at the school and position herself in the bushes outside the window, where she could watch over Melina.

***

_What is going to happen today, I wonder..._ thought Sunshine, flicking carelessly at a leaf. _I have a strong feeling that something bad is going to happen... _Sunshine was suddenly struck by yet another memory, this time one of the Last Day, before the Dark Forces had attacked...

* * *

"_Sunshine, how is Amaterasu's training going?" asked Queen Serenity, walking through the courtyard where Jupiter was training Amaterasu, if one could call it that. It seemed more that Amaterasu was giving Jupiter some target practice, rather than Jupiter training Amaterasu. The number of leaky fountains and burnt flowers grew as Jupiter continually threw lightning at Amaterasu, who was surprisingly fast on her feet by this point. Finally, Jupiter threw three bolts of lightning at Amaterasu, who was not fast enough to evade them all, and let out an ear-piercing scream as the lightning tore through her body. She collapsed to the ground, and Jupiter ran to her side, evidently worried. Amaterasu whimpered and crawled away from Jupiter, obviously expecting to be electrocuted again. Jupiter sighed._

"_Look, Amaterasu, I'm sorry I hurt you, but this is training! You need to awaken your Senshi powers, and this is the only way to do that," Jupiter said, holding out her hand to help Amaterasu to her feet. The Sun Princess looked timidly at Jupiter, then took the older girl's hand. As soon as Amaterasu was on her feet, Sunshine noticed something that made her stomach go cold: Amaterasu's eyes had turned pitch black. A split second later, Jupiter was flying through the air, thrown with such unexpected force that she didn't have time to stop herself from hitting anything. If Mercury hadn't appeared at that crucial moment and caught Jupiter, the lightning Princess would have surely been hurt quite badly. Everyone present turned to Amaterasu, whose eyes were thankfully their icy blue again, and filled with shocked tears at what had just occurred._

"_I-I'm sorry, Jupiter, I... I don't know what came over me... I'll just g-go..." stuttered Amaterasu, before running into the palace, bawling her eyes out._

"_I don't know why I asked, to be honest..." said Queen Serenity, shaking her head. Sunshine could only stare at the spot where Amaterasu had stood, the horrifying image of the black-eyed girl burned into her vision. Serenity noticed the look on Sunshine's face. "Sunshine, are you alright?"_

"_D-did you see Amaterasu's eyes right before she threw Jupiter?" asked Sunshine worriedly. Serenity nodded._

"_I didn't think that was normal," Serenity said, frowning. Sunshine glanced about her, her senses tingling. _Something very bad's going to happen today, _she thought. _I can feel it. This could be the day. This could be the day that we've been afraid of all this time: the end. The end of peace. The end of the Silver Millennium. Oh, please, Eternity, _Sunshine prayed,_ don't let this beautiful time end!

* * *

_Oh, Eternity, why did you let us down? _Sunshine asked silently. _Why did you have to let that beautiful, glorious time come to such a horrific end? _A loud ringing interrupted Sunshine's thoughts, and she looked up to see students flooding into the schoolyard. She looked carefully among the students, and spotted Melina walking hand in hand with a blonde boy, who, for some reason, looked strangely familiar. The two went and sat down on a bench underneath a tree. Sunshine waited until there was no one looking, then silently ran up into the tree branches above Melina and the boy.

"Oh, David, yesterday was such a weird day," said Melina, sighing and cuddling up to David.

"Yeah? Weird, how? What happened to make it so weird?" David asked, putting his arm around Melina. Sunshine hissed quietly at the closeness of this boy to her charge.

"Well, I-I'm not sure if I should say..." said Melina slowly.

"Come on, Mel, you know you can tell me anything," said David. Sunshine had heard enough. Just as Melina was opening her mouth to speak, Sunshine jumped out of the tree onto Melina's head.

"Aaaaah!!!! What is it?!? Is it a spider?!? Or a snake?!? Oh, David, please tell me it's not a snake!!!" screamed Melina.

"Relax, Mel, it's just your cat," said David, giggling. Melina reached up and pulled Sunshine off her head, staring into each other's eyes for a moment. Sunshine could see the icy blue eyes getting even icier as they stared at her.

"Sunshine, what are you doing here? You're supposed to wait at home," Melina scolded.

"Should you take her to the office? So they can call your parents to come and get her?" asked David, looking from Melina to Sunshine. Sunshine head turned, and David was shocked by the look that the cat was giving him: a look which clearly said, "Touch my girl and I'll claw your eyes out."

"No, she'll just wander around here for a while, then probably follow my bus home," said Melina, placing Sunshine on the ground. Sunshine looked up at Melina and David for a moment, then seeing that they were not going to go anywhere, wandered off to find some water. She was worn out after all those memories that kept pouncing on her. Melina watched Sunshine wander away, then said,

"David, I'll be back in a second. I'm just going to the toilet," Melina fibbed, turning to David and planting a gentle kiss on his cheek.

"I'll be waiting," David smiled. Melina nodded and walked away in the direction that Sunshine had gone, and found her drinking from a drink tap, which was being held on by a pretty blonde girl with a red bow perched on top of her head, her waist-length hair sparkling in the sunlight and half-hiding a white cat on her shoulder. Sunshine looked up as Melina approached.

"Sorry, i-is my cat bothering you? Melina asked, suddenly shy again in the prescence of an unfamiliar person. The blonde girl smiled.

"Not at all. I was just giving my cat a drink, and then yours came along looking thirsty, so I gave her a drink too," said the girl, nodding to the cat on her shoulder. The cat turned to examine Melina, who immediately noticed that he had a gold crescent moon shape on his forehead, in exactly the same place as Sunshine's sun shape.

"I'm Minako Aino, and this is Artemis. What's your name?" asked the girl, holding out her hand.

"Oh, I-I'm Melina. Th-this is Sunshine," stuttered Melina, shaking hands nervously.

"Nice to meet you, Melina. What year are you in?" Minako asked.

"S-seven. Wh-what about you?" Melina stuttered.

"Eight. You're in the year below me! You must be officially a teenager now, right?" Minako asked, smiling. Melina nodded shyly. "We'll have to go shopping together sometime, so we can get you lots of lovely new clothes!" Melina nodded again, then looked up as a piece of paper bearing a lot of numbers was thrush under her nose. "Call me sometime! We can go shopping, and grab a milkshake down at the arcade, and then we could play the Sailor V game! I'm pretty good at it, and I don't usually teach new players, but I can probably make an exception." Melina could only smile and accept the phone number. She was feeling a little overwhelmed by this talkative girl, but was grateful that she was trying to be friends.

"Hey, Melina! What'cha doin'?" asked David, walking over.

"Oh! Um, David, th-this is Minako, Minako Aino. M-Minako, this is m-my boyfriend David," said Melina, pointing from one to the other.

"Boyfriend, eh?" said Minako, causing both Melina and David to blush. "Good choice, Melina, he's cute," she whispered in Melina's ear. Melina smiled.

"Shall we go grab an ice cream from the canteen, Mel?" David asked. Melina turned her pockets inside out to indicate that she had no money, then did her puppy dog eyes again. David hurriedly added, "My treat, of course." Minako laughed.

"You know, you remind me a lot of my friend Usagi," she smiled.

"Usagi Tsukino?" Melina asked, turning with renewed curiosity.

"Yeah. Wait, you know her?" Minako asked.

"Yeah, I met her and another girl called Makoto yesterday," said Melina.

"Makoto Kino? Well I'll be. They told me so much about you! I'm glad to meet you," said Minako, smiling.

"Um, Mel? I don't mean to hurry you or anything, but the canteen doesn't stay open forever, and I won't be able to buy you that ice cream if it closes," said David.

"Well, I won't hold you up any longer. If you're anything like Usagi, you'll probably rip me to shreds if I get between you and your food," said Minako, before whispering in Melina's ear, "Yup. He's definitely a keeper." Melina smiled at Minako and took the hand that David was holding out for her, and together they ran off towards the canteen. Sunshine waited for a second before following, leaving Minako and Artemis at the drink tap.

"Minako, did you sense the strong aura coming off of that cat? It looks just like the one Luna described, except it's got a sun shape on its forehead," said Artemis, looking at Minako. Minako nodded.

"Yeah, and not only was that girl the same one that Usagi and Makoto know, she really does look a lot like that girl at the arcade," said Minako thoughtfully.

"We'd better tell Luna about this," Artemis observed.

"I think you're right, Artemis," Minako said.

* * *

"Mmmm, yummy. Fanks, David," said Melina through a mouthful of ice cream. David couldn't help but smile at the sticky mess forming around Melina's mouth.

"Here, I'll take that," said David, taking the ice cream wrapper out of Melina's hand. "I'll be right back," he called over his shoulder, before disappearing round a corner. Melina wiped her mouth and looked furtively around, before calling out:

"Sunshine. I know you're around here. Come here, I want to talk to you." Sunshine crept out of some bushes and sat beside Melina.

"Sunshine, I'm not very happy with you. Why did you have to follow me to school and listen in on my conversations?!?" Melina asked angrily. Sunshine sighed.

"Melina, as your guardian, it is my duty to stay by your side at all times, and make sure that nothing happens to you! That is the law of the Silver Alliance, and even though the Silver Alliance no longer exists, I am still faithful to it, and will therefore obey its law!" Sunshine said impatiently. Melina spun around, curious.

"Silver Alliance? What's that?" she asked. Sunshine stared at Melina for a moment before shaking her head.

"I can't tell you. Not yet, anyway. I'm sorry for upsetting you, Melina," Sunshine said, before jumping up into the tree and then onto the school roof, where she turned and sat watching Melina. _I'm sorry, Melina, but I can't tell you anything about Amaterasu, even though I'm sure that you're her. I can't tell you what I don't know. I don't know what's happening to you, and I don't know what happened to her..._ Sunshine suddenly sat bolt upright as another memory pounced on her...

* * *

Author's notes: What will Sunshine remember this time? Trust me, it's exciting! Please, _please,_ PLEASE review! I want to know what you think!


	5. The Darkness Within

Hello, everyone! Nothing much to report, just another chapter of my story going up before I go away on holidays. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are fine,

Sailor Moon Rights, why can't you be mine?

* * *

**Last time: **_"Melina, as your guardian, it is my duty to stay by your side at all times, and make sure that nothing happens to you! That is the law of the Silver Alliance, and even though the Silver Alliance no longer exists, I am still faithful to it, and will therefore obey its law!" Sunshine said impatiently. Melina spun around._

"_Silver Alliance? What's that?" she asked, confused. Sunshine stared at Melina for a moment before shaking her head._

"_I can't tell you. Not yet, anyway. I'm sorry for upsetting you, Melina," Sunshine said, before jumping up into the tree and then onto the school roof, where she turned and sat watching Melina._ I'm sorry, Melina, but I can't tell you anything about Amaterasu, even though I'm sure that you're her. I can't tell you what I don't know. I don't know what's happening to you, and I don't know what happened to her... _Sunshine suddenly sat bolt upright as another memory pounced on her..._

* * *

"_Welcome, everyone! As you know, it is tradition for the royal family to bless the heir's Pure Heart Crystal with the power of the Bronze Crystal. Today, on Princess Amaterasu's fifth birthday, we are gathered to carry on this tradition by blessing her Heart Crystal," said a tall, beautiful lady with a golden crown half-hidden in her floor-length ginger hair. The inhabitants of the Sun had been called to the palace, and were now gathered in the throne room. King Alexander and the other lady stood behind a low table made of marble, the ancient language carved intricately into its sides long forgotten._

"_Bring forth the princess!" King Alexander shouted, and the throne room doors swung wide to reveal 5-year old Amaterasu, her brown hair and icy blue eyes twinkling, her blood-red, silk dress shining, and a cheerful, curious smile on her face. Her hand was entwined with that of a tall guard, and in the other hand she held a pink and blue unicorn toy. The crowd parted to let Amaterasu pass, and she was escorted to her parents and the table. King Alexander picked Amaterasu up gently and laid her down on the table. Amaterasu looked around curiously, wondering why she was lying here with all these people staring at her. The Queen picked up a gold staff with a large, copper-coloured gem on the end: The Bronze Crystal. She passed the staff over Amaterasu's body, which began to glow ith bright golden light. Amaterasu groaned and twitched as the golden light gathered on the front of her dress, and then, as Amaterasu's eyes went blank, a pink, cross shaped crystal with a glowing center appeared above her chest. The Bronze Crystal began to glow very brightly, sending gold and bronze-coloured waves of light flowing over Amaterasu's Pure heart crystal, which glowed brighter with every wave. The royal family and the court were so enraptured by the Bronze Crystal's effect on Amaterasu's heart crystal, that no-one noticed a dark, smoke-like shape charging, again and again, against the protective shields that had been erected around the castle. Slowly, but surely, the shield began to crack, until finally, an area of the shield shattered, and the shape floated silently through, and floated at the window. The light given off by Amaterasu's heart crystal kept growing, until, finally, it let out a huge burst of golden light. It was then that the shadow attacked Amaterasu's Heart Crystal. Amaterasu screamed in agony as the shadow merged with her Heart Crystal, turning the glowing light black._

"_Amaterasu!!! No!!!" King Alexander shouted, grabbing at the shadow. Amaterasu screamed again as Alexander's fingers brushed her Heart Crystal. The Queen grabbed King Alexander's hand and pulled it back, then lowered her staff towards her daughter's Heart Crystal, the Bronze Crystal glowing even brighter. Amaterasu began to thrash and shriek in pain as the bright light flowed over __her Heart Crystal._

"_I-it's no good, Alexander, it's not working!" cried the Queen, taking her staff away from the Heart Crystal._

"_Wh-what are we going to do, then?!?" asked King Alexander frantically. He suddenly noticed that the Queen's face had turned oddly calm. "NO! Solaris, I know what you're thinking, you CANNOT use the full power of the Bronze Crystal! You KNOW what happens if you do that!!"_

"_I'm sorry, My King, but I have no other choice. We need to loosen that spirit's hold on Amaterasu's Heart Crystal, or it will never be pure again! She needs to be able to fight this thing, and clearly, the only way that she'll be able to do that is if I use the Bronze Crystal's full power!" Queen Solaris said impatiently. The King opened his mouth to protest, then he shut it again as his eyes filled with tears and resignation._

"_I love you so much, Solaris. Always know that," Alexander whispered, before kissing his wife for the last time._

"_It'll be alright, Alexander. I love you too, and I always will," said Solaris, before raising her staff, and the Bronze Crystal, high above her head. The Bronze Crystal began to pulse with waves of gold and bronze light, which bounced around the room and washed over Amaterasu's Heart Crystal. Amaterasu screamed and writhed in agony, tears streaming down her cheeks. Seconds later, she collaped, unconscious. A roaring echoed out of the Pure Heart, and pitch-black smoke began to pour out of its black center. Soon, the waves of golden light began to die down, and the Bronze Crystal suddenly shattered, the shards glowing for a moment before reforming into a small white and gold object, which fell onto the marble beside Amaterasu's still body. Queen Solaris collapsed to the floor, her eyes fluttering as they watched Amaterasu's Heart Crystal (which was still slightly black) float back down into her chest._

"_Solaris!" cried Alexander helplessly, grasping his wife's hand._

"_Take... care... of... her... Alex..." Solaris whispered, her eyes sinking._

"_SOLARIS!!!" cried King Alexander, his anguish shared by all present. King Alexander hugged his wife's still body to his chest, weeping freely. Suddenly, Solaris' eyes opened wide, and her body began to glow with a bright golden light. She stepped away from Alexander, staring in wonder at her golden hands. Then Solaris' scream rent the still air, and her body seemed to become liquid gold as it began to change shape, getting smaller. Eventually the bright light died down, and everyone stared at what Queen Solaris had become: a ginger cat. Everyone's eyes widened as the Solarian symbol appeared on her forehead, and she opened her eyes. She looked down at herself for a moment, before turning towards Amaterasu. Everyone turned with Solaris, and found Amaterasu standing up, her icy blue eyes filled with both fear and hope as she held the white and gold object above her head. Solaris stared at Amaterasu for a moment, before smiling._

"_Thank you, Amaterasu. You saved my life," Solaris said. Amaterasu smiled._

"_Sunshine!" the young girl squeaked, before bursting into a fit of giggles. Solaris smiled, noticing that this was the nickname that she had given her daughter. _That seems rather appropriate for me now_, she thought._

"_Well, King Alexander, it seems your daughter has decided to call her first creation 'Sunshine'," said Solaris, smiling and turning to her husband._

"_Solaris, what are you saying? Amaterasu is our daughter," asked Alexander, confused. Solaris smiled sadly._

"_I highly doubt that she will remember this, and it would be extremely confusing to say that a cat was her mother. I think it would be best if we pretended that I was merely one of your servants, rather than the Queen," Solaris whispered to her husband. Alexander sighed, then lifted a yawning Amaterasu off the table and setting her on the floor._

"_It seems that you are wise as always," said the King, before adding, "Sunshine." Sunshine smiled and bowed._

"_I shall become Amaterasu's guardian, and shall work hard to finish expelling the spirit, My King," she said, before raising her new tail for Amaterasu to take. The young girl timidly took the tail, and Sunshine led Amaterasu out of the throne room and down the hall to her bedroom. King Alexander stayed where he was, watching them go._

"_Eternity," he breathed, shaking his head. "What is this world coming to?"_

* * *

Sunshine silently cried as she thought of the enormous sacrifice that she had made to save her little girl. She stared down at Melina, and her heart skipped a beat as her eyes came to rest on her brooch. The image of Amaterasu holding the white and gold object above her head flashed through Sunshine's mind, making her gasp. _The Bronze Crystal! Melina's got the brooch that was formed from the Bronze Crystal!_ Sunshine grappled with this thought for a moment. _Just another reason to add to the list of reasons why Melina is probably Amaterasu,_ she thought. Suddenly, Sunshine felt a surge of negative energy flow down her spine, and knew what was about to happen. And sure enough, Melina stood, pulled out her flute and began to play. The entire school seemed to stop dead as they listened to the beautiful, sad lullaby.

***

"Minako, did you feel that?" asked Artemis, spinning around as youma energy flowed down his spine. Minako nodded, pulling out her communicator.

"Everyone, there's a Youma here!" she said, looking at the four people on the screen. All four nodded, then the screen went blank. Minako tucked her communicator into her back pocket, then ran to the nearby bushes.

"Venus Power!" she shouted, before being surrounded by a globe of orange light. The globe disappeared with a flash, and Sailor Venus jumped out from behind the bushes and ran towards the auditorium with Artemis at her side.

***

Melina sat watching Sunshine, wondering what was going on in her furry head, when suddenly, she felt herself being thrown to the back of her mind again. _Oh, no,_ she thought. _What horrifying thing am I going to be up against today?_ Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long to find out. She drifted off to sleep once again as the music floated through her ears and the sun shapes floated around her body...

* * *

Melina jerked awake to find herself perched in the rafters of the school auditorium, looking down at the Senshi and a youma that looked like a huge black puppy, except that it wasn't anywhere near as playful. Not only did its breath stink of garbage, bones and raw meat, but its oversize teeth looked razor sharp. Melina looked around in horror at the chewed up seats, and noticed a microphone stand in the middle of the stage. She also noticed that her brooch was beginning to glow again, and then she was once more thrown back into her own mind. Her body jumped down directly behind the microphone, raised her flute to her lips and began to play. Amaterasu's lullaby drifted through the auditorium, making the youma stop dead as it heard the music. Its eyes slowly began to droop, and as the music got louder, the youma's eyes got lower. Finally, the youma fell asleep, toppling over onto the pile of chewed up seats with an almighty crash.

"Its weak spot is that white mark!" the one in blue declared, pointing at the youma's stomach.

"Are you sure, Mercury?" asked Venus, moving around the youma to find the spot. Just as she stepped past the youma's head, a glowing golden sun flew straight at the spot Mercury had indicated, causing the youma to explode into a dust pile. The Senshi turned to see Melina, half hidden behind the glow of her brooch, pointing her flute at the spot where the youma had been. The flute began to hiss and shoot out sun shapes again, and then Melina disappeared in a flash of golden light.

"Her again! How does she always know where the youma are?" asked Luna furiously. The Senshi shrugged.

"I see what Sailor Moon and Jupiter mean, though. That really does look a lot like Melina," said Venus, staring at the microphone.

"You know her now too?" Luna asked, turning to Venus.

"Yeah, we met her today, her _and_ that cat you were talking about," said Artemis, sitting down next to Luna. The two cats exchanged looks for a moment, before Luna turned back to the Senshi.

"Well, I think that we should all meet her, and find out if she's genuine or not. In the meantime, have any of you made any headway as to our Princess' identity?" Luna asked, her question met with an awkward silence. Luna shook her head. "I'll take that as a no. Best keep your eyes open, she could be anywhere."

"Luna, what if Melina is our Princess?" Sailor Moon asked. Luna looked at her for a moment, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"It's possible. We'd better keep a close eye on her. If she is our Princess, she'll need protecting," Luna said curtly, before flicking her tail and walking out the auditorium door with the Senshi and Artemis in tow. Venus turned back in the doorway to look at the demolished auditorium.

"Well, this is gonna be a fun job to clean up," she remarked, before following the others.

* * *

"There you are, Melina! I've been wondering where you'd got to," David said walking over and sitting down beside Melina, who was sitting on the same seat as before, her eyes shut tight and her breathing shallow and harsh. "Are you alright, Mel?" David asked, concerned.

"Oooh, look who we have here! The two little lovebirds, David and Melina. What say you leave that little baby of a girl here and come on a date with me, David?" said a short blonde girl wearing a rather revealing red dress. David scowled at her.

"No, I don't think so, Olivia," he said, putting his arm protectively around Melina.

***

Sunshine hissed quietly at the short girl as she heard her call Melina a "little baby of a girl". Sunshine knew that Melina was hardly a mature girl, but this girl was being extremely rude and hurtful. She leapt from the roof into the tree behind Melina and David's seat, scrambling silently down to the lowest branches. She watched as the girl's expression turned sour.

"Well, I never! How dare you reject me! No one ever rejects me and gets away with it!" Olivia said, pulling back her hand to slap David across the face. It was then that Sunshine leapt onto Olivia's head and began scratching her face. The girl shrieked and tried to pull Sunshine off, falling over onto the grass. David was sitting watching Olivia's hysteria with an amused smile on his face. Melina was still sitting with her eyes closed, her breathing getting shallower and shallower by the second. Just as Olivia managed to pull Sunshine off her head and toss her on the grass, Melina opened her eyes. Sunshine stopped attacking Olivia when she saw Melina's eyes: the irises had turned pitch black. Melina stared coldly at Olivia for a moment, before throwing herself off the seat at the blonde. Olivia shrieked and rolled out of the way, scrambling to her feet and running off. David and Sunshine both sat completely still, staring in horror at Melina's eyes. As they watched, her irises faded to their original icy blue, then her eyelids fluttered down as she collapsed.

"Melina!" David cried, catching Melina before her head hit the ground and laying her on her back. Sunshine sat beside Melina, patting her hand gently. Melina groaned and opened her eyes.

"Melina, are you OK?" David asked, stroking her hair. Melina slowly sat up and looked from David to Sunshine.

"What happened?" she asked them.

"I'm not sure, Mel. You... Your eyes turned black, and, well, you kinda looked like you were going to throttle Olivia," David said, helping Melina to her feet. Melina clasped her head, trying to remember what David had just described. But the last thing she remembered before waking up was the gold suns surrounding her.

"R-really? I w-wonder why I don't remember any of that... I-I'm going to go for a walk and clear my head, OK, David?" Melina asked. David looked concerned, but nodded. Melina picked Sunshine up gently and walked down towards the school oval. David stared after her, wondering what was going on...

* * *

"Sunshine, wh-what happened to me back there?" Melina asked timidly, setting Sunshine on the grass and flopping down beside her.

"Melina... I... I really don't know..." Sunshine said, turning away.

"But you have a pretty good idea, don't you?"Melina said, turning away angrily. Sunshine nodded sadly. Melina sighed, tears forming in her eyes.

"I just want to know what is going on! I didn't think that was such a big thing to ask for, but clearly I was wrong," Melina said, angry tears now flowing down her cheeks. She rose and started marching across the grass back towards the school building.

"Melina, I want to tell you, I really do, it's just that.. oh, alright. Look, Melina, I'll make you a deal. If my suspicions aren't proven by tomorrow night, I'll tell you everything," Sunshine called after her. Melina froze, then spun around.

"Everything?" she asked.

"Every single little thing I can remember," confirmed Sunshine. Melina stood thinking for a moment, before nodding.

"Deal!" she said, before giggling and running back towards David.

Sunshine smiled a little that Melina was happy again. _I don't regret making this deal with Melina,_ she thought. _After all, my senses are telling me that big things will happen tomorrow, and I'll be telling her everything anyway..._

* * *

Author's notes: Everyone, I just want to say that there are big things coming in the next couple of chapters, so stay tuned! Please review! I'd love your opinions on my story!


	6. The Sun Shines at The Cherry Hill Temple

Hi! This'll probably be my last chapter before the school holidays, so I hope you enjoy it! (Trust me, this one's really exciting!)

Oh, and for anyone who was wondering, the Senshi haven't found the Moon Princess yet. I'm getting there, don't worry.

Disclaimer:

Sparrowflyaway (going onto Ebay): Now, let's see if Naoko Takeuchi has decided to sell the rights to Sailor Moon... Hey, what's that? "Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi?" that sound like... but it can't be... can it? (clicks) Hey-! That's just a poster! FALSE ADVERTISING!!!!! grrr... that's not it... let's see... Darn, it's not here! Guess I'll just have to settle for this PGSM Sailor Venus Beauty Kit...

* * *

"Are you alright, Melina? You've been awfully quiet since you got home. Did something happen at school?" asked Mrs Pattini, ruffling her daughter's hair. Melina just smiled and shook her head, before taking a bit of roast chicken.

"I'm just tired, mum. It was a really busy day," Melina said.

"I'll say. Practically all the boys had to help Mr Mackenzie clean up the auditorium after that youma battle in there," said Michael, his mouth full of chicken.

"A youma? At the school? Why didn't anyone tell me this earlier?" asked Mrs Pattini, getting angry.  
"Why did you want to know? What are you going to do, Mum?" asked Michael.

"I'm calling the school. To think that they let a Youma in there, I don't know what they were thinking..." Mrs Pattini glowered, picking up the phone.

"Mum, I doubt they let the Youma into the school. Someone probably disguised it and smuggled it in there," Melina said. Mrs Pattini froze, then placed the phone back down.

"You're probably right, Melina," she said.

"And besides, the Senshi took care of it pretty quickly," Melina said.

"How would you know? You weren't even there!" Michael said

"I was too!"

"Were not!"

"Was too!"

"Were not!"

"Then how come I saw you snogging that blonde guy?" Michael said. Melina stared at him. _Has he been spying on me?_ She wondered.

"He's my boyfriend. I'm allowed to kiss him," she said, picking up her plate and leaving the room. As she tromped up the stairs, she heard her mother say,

"Michael, I wish you wouldn't upset your sister so. You know how volatile her temper is."

* * *

Melina shut her bedroom door and sat down on the bed, before picking up her extra piece of chicken and handing it to Sunshine.

"Sunshine, I know you said that you wouldn't tell me until tomorrow, but could you give me a clue?" Melina asked, watching the ginger cat nibbling the chicken. Sunshine looked up and stared at Melina for a moment, then swallowed her mouthful of chicken.

"Melina, I'm sorry, but you'll just have to wait until tomorrow," she said, before walking up to her and tapping Melina's brooch. "I will tell you this: your brooch is extremely important to everything that's happening." Melina looked at her brooch, confused.

"My brooch? What's that got to do with anything?" she asked, gripping it tightly.

"That's one of the many things that I will explain tomorrow. For now, just make sure you look after it, and keep it with you at all times. I have a feeling you may need it tomorrow," Sunshine said, returning to her roast chicken. Melina stared at Sunshine for a moment, then sighed and put her plate outside the door.

"I'm tired, Sunshine. I'm gonna have an early night, OK?" Melina asked, picking up her pyjamas. Sunshine nodded, picked up her chicken and jumped onto the floor so that Melina could go to bed. Melina changed into her pyjamas, flicked off the light and curled up under her blankets, and she soon began snoring softly. Sunshine finished her chicken and curled up in her basket, thinking about the day that was to come.

* * *

Sunshine woke at 3:45 to find Melina thrashing around in bed. _Probably that nightmare again,_ Sunshine thought, getting up and walking out of the room. She returned moments later with a cold cloth, which she placed on Melina's forehead.

***

As the familiar voices drifted through the black mist once again, another face joined the two from last night: Minako.

***

Sunshine turned the cloth over, staring worriedly at Melina as she did so. She sat back and waited...

***

Melina's dream continued in the same fashion as last night: six glowing bubbles floated away, and the woman clasped Melina's hand, which then began to glow gold along with the rest of her body. The golden light filled her dream, and then she awoke.

***

Sunshine sat watching Melina as she tossed and turned, then stepped forward as Melina woke, the cloth falling off her and onto the bed.

"There, now, it's alright, Melina, it was just a dream," said Sunshine, picking up the cloth and placing it onto Melina's bedside table.

"I kn-know it's just a dream, Sunshine, b-but it seems so real, and it's r-really r-really sc-scary," Melina muttered. She thought about the dream, and suddenly remembered that Minako had appeared in it.

"M-Minako!" she gasped, staring into space.

"What about her? Was she in your dream tonight?" Sunshine asked, placing her paw on Melina's hand. Melina looked down at Sunshine and nodded. Sunshine frowned.

"It's strange, but... I'm sure I sensed something from Minako. Makoto and Usagi too," Sunshine said. "I also felt something from..." Sunshine trailed off and her eyes widened. _Artemis! It's really him! I almost didn't notice with everything that happened today... He looks exactly the same as I remember him,_ Sunshine thought. "Melina, could you phone Minako when it's properly morning and arrange to meet her? And could you get her to bring Artemis along too?" Sunshine asked. Melina looked a little confused, but she nodded, her confusion and curiosity making her forget about the dream. She snuggled back down under the covers, and was soon snoring softly once again. Sunshine threw the cloth into Melina's dirty washing basket, then curled up in her basket, and was soon fast asleep as well.

* * *

"Melina... Melina! It's time to get up now," said Sunshine, pushing Melina gently. Melina rolled over and stared bleary-eyed at Sunshine.

"Oh, Sunshine, do we have to get up so early? It's Saturday. I wanna sleep in," Melina whispered, before closing her eyes and snuggling back down under her blankets.

"I could splash more water over you if you'd like," Sunshine whispered in Melina's ear. Melina's eyes shot open.

"Nooooo!!!" she cried, jumping out of bed and dashing to the kitchen for breakfast before Sunshine could say any more. Sunshine smiled and jumped up onto Melina's bedside table, staring at the gold sun shape on Melina's brooch. _Today's the day,_ she thought. _I can feel it. Today we all get the answers we've been looking for..._

* * *

"Hey, Minako? Would you like to hang out this afternoon? ...Great! ...Some of your friends? How many? ...Oh, OK. ...Awesome. So where should we meet? ...Oh, gee, I dunno. Maybe the park at 1:30? ...Really? OK, great! And could you bring Artemis with you too? ...Great! ...Yeah, sure! I won't object. ...OK, I'll see you then! Bye!" Melina placed down the phone and turned to Sunshine.

"Minako's gonna meet me at the Cherry Hill Temple, and she's bringing Usagi and Makoto, and another of her friends. She said that one of her other friends lives at the temple, and that this friend is really eager to meet me," she said.

"Is Artemis coming too?" Sunshine asked.

"Yeah, and Usagi's bringing her cat Luna as well," Melina said. Sunshine froze. _Luna... I wonder what she's up to..._ Sunshine's eyes widened as she remembered seeing her midnight blue friend on Melina's birthday.

"Well, that's a bonus. We'd better get ready if we're going out," Sunshine said looking at Melina's tousled hair and her pyjamas. Melina nodded and hurried upstairs. Sunshine stared after her, thinking about Luna and Artemis. _I miss them, she thought. It'll be nice to see them again, and find out how they are. I hope this afternoon comes quickly..._

_(Minutes later...)_

"Sunshine!!!" Melina wailed from upstairs. Sunshine sighed and went upstairs to find Melina wrapped in a towel and rummaging through her wardrobe.

"What's the matter, Melina?" Sunshine asked.

"I don't have any nice dresses left!" Melina said, throwing piles of clothes ot of the wardrobe. Sunshine sighed, then she leapt into the air and did a flip, and what fell onto the bed was a beautiful white, knee-length, short-sleeved dress with gold sun shapes embroidered around the neckline and gold flecks spattered across the fabric. Melina picked it up hesitantly, smiling as she felt the soft silk flowing under her hand.

"Oh, Sunshine, this is beautiful! Are you sure I'm allowed to wear it?" Melina asked, throwing the dress over her head, the towel falling to the floor. Melina gently smoothed out a crinkle in the dress and turned to look in the mirror, her icy blue eyes shining as she examined herself. She looked at Sunshine, who was now sitting on the bed next to a pair of white high heels with gold flecks on them. Melina sat down and examined them, fascinated by the sparkling gold flecks. She pulled them on and stood up. Sunshine watched happily as Melina took a shaky step forward, but was soon strutting around her room in the heels.

"Happy now?" Sunshine asked, she silver eyes dancing at the delight on Melina's face. Melina nodded and turned to her wardrobe.

"Yeah, but, I don't think I have a matching handbag..." she said, glancing at Sunshine before rummaging in the wardrobe again. She quickly spun around to stare at Sunshine when she saw that Sunshine had the matching white handbag in her mouth. "Thanks, Sunshine, you're the best," she said, taking the handbag and slipping her lip gloss and phone into it. She then placed the bag on the bed and went into the bathroom, emerging 10 minutes later, a gold ribbon braided into her hair.

"You look lovely, Melina," Sunshine said, smiling. Melina looked down at her dress and shoes, and smiled.

"You really think so?" Melina asked, her smile equalling Sunshine's. Sunshine nodded.

"Don't forget your brooch, Melina," Sunshine said, nodding at the brooch on Melina's bedside table. Melina picked it up and fastened it onto her dress, the brooch matching the colours on Melina's dress perfectly. Melina grabbed the handbag from her bed and turned to Sunshine.

"Did you ring David and tell him that you can't come on that date he wanted to have today?" Sunshine asked, looking at Melina, who gasped and covered her mouth.

"I'd completely forgot about that! I'll call him now," she said, running downstairs. Sunshine listened to her conversation.

"...Hey, David, it's me. ...Yeah, about that. I was kinda hoping to hang out with one of my new friends today. You could come if you like. I'm going to the Cherry Hill Temple. ...Oh, OK. I might see you after that, then. ...OK. ...Love You! Bye!" Melina sighed and put down the phone, then walked back upstairs.

"I think I'm ready now, Sunshine," she said. Sunshine nodded.

"Good thing too, it's 12:30, and it'll take us about an hour to get out to the Cherry Hill Temple," Sunshine smiled, looking at the clock. Melina shrieked, then grabbed Sunshine and dashed out the door.

* * *

"Hey, Usagi-chan, you're early today," said the purple haired priestess, leaning on her broom and looking at the girl and the cat walking up the steps. Usagi smiled.

"Yeah, well, when Minako-chan woke me up to tell me that Melina wants to hang out, well, I just knew that Luna wouldn't let me sleep in. And besides, I kinda wanted to see Melina again anyway," Usagi said, turning at the sound of footsteps.

"Hey, Usagi-chan! Hey, Rei-chan. I couldn't believe it when Minako-chan told me that Melina wants to meet us," Makoto said, dragging a blue-haired girl behind her. The blue haired girl, who was busily reading a thick book, didn't look up in time to avoid tripping on the Temple steps. Makoto smiled and shook her head, helping the girl to her feet. Usagi walked over and picked up the book that the girl had dropped.

"Maths?" she cringed, reading the title. "Ami-chan, why can't you avoid studying for just one day? It might do you some good."

"Well, if that's the case, then you're probably in perfect health, Usagi-chan," Rei said, smiling cheekily. Usagi turned slowly, her smile fading.

"REI-CHAAAAANNNN!!!!! YOU'RE SO MEEEEEAN!!!" Usagi wailed, sinking to the ground. Ami, Rei and Makoto shook their heads defeatedly.

"Hi guys, Melina not here yet?" Minako asked, walking up the steps with Artemis beside her. Usagi immediately stopped wailing and ran over to Minako, a huge smile forming on her face.

"Minako-chan! How are you?" Usagi asked, suddenly happy again. Minako smiled and held out the white box in her hand.

"Good. I brought treats for everyone," she said. Usagi took the box and opened it eagerly to find six pieces of chocolate cake.

"Oooh, yummy! Thanks, Minako-chan!" Usagi said, before Rei snatched the box and carried it inside, emerging a few seconds later. Usagi pouted.

"E-Excuse me, i-is this the Cherry Hill Temple?" a small voice asked, and the girls turned to see Melina walking up the steps with Sunshine beside her. Minako smiled and stepped forward.

"Hi, Melina, yeah, this is it. How are you?" she asked, taking Melina's hand and guiding her over to the group.

"I-I'm..." Melina trailed off, unsure of what to say to these older girls.

"Come inside and have some tea and cake," said Rei, opening the sliding paper door of the temple. Minako guided Melina inside, and when the other five were inside, Rei looked pointedly at Luna and Artemis, then shut the door behind her. The three cats sat studying one another for a few seconds.

"Things sure have changed down here since the Silver Millennium, huh?" Sunshine said, looking around. Luna and Artemis gaped as they heard the ginger cat speak.

"You can talk?" Artemis asked. Sunshine nodded.

"How are you these days, Luna, Artemis?" Sunshine asked casually.

"Yeah, things are pretty good-" Artemis began, before Luna interrupted him.

"How do you know about the Silver Millennium?" she hissed, staring coldly at Sunshine.

"I'm not surprised you don't remember me. I'm Sunshine. I used to live on the Sun, way back in the time of the Silver Millenium. The End of the Silver Millennium was about 10 years after Queen Serenity agreed to let us Solarians join the Silver Alliance," Sunshine said, smiling sadly. Luna's eyes softened as she began to remember the Solarian cat in front of her.

"What have you been doing down here since then?" Artemis asked.

"Regrettably, not all that much. I only properly awoke two days ago," Sunshine said. "Fortunately, though, I managed to find someone who I think could be the reincarnation of the old Solarian Princess, Amaterasu."

"Do you mean that girl you came here with?" Luna asked. Sunshine smiled and nodded.

"Yes, I am referring to Melina. Sadly, though, her senshi powers are just as stubborn in this life as they were in the last one," Sunshine said, staring at the door that the girls had gone through. Luna and Artemis took the opportunity to have a whispered conversation.

"Do you think this cat's for real?" Artemis asked.

"Yes, I vaguely remember that Solarian Princess, and I can definitely remember Sunshine," Luna whispered back.

"Should we tell her that we haven't found our Princess yet?"

"..."

"Luna, I think we should..."

"...Yes, you're right. Sh'es one of us. She needs to know what's happening."

"Do you want to tell her?" Luna nodded.

"Sunshine," Luna said, turning to the ginger cat. Sunshine's thoughts about Amaterasu were cut short, and she turned to Luna. "Sunshine, I'm very sorry to say this, but it seems we have two princesses to find. As yet, we haven't found the Moon Princess, Serenity, either," Luna said. Sunshine nodded slowly as she thought of the silver-haired princess of the Moon.

* * *

"Melina, I'd like to introduce you to my friends. Usagi and Makoto you already know. This is Ami Mizuno and Rei Hino," said Minako, pointing to the blue-haired girl and then the priestess.

"Hi, I-I'm Melina Pattini," Melina said quietly, looking at the ground.

"Hello, Melina, how are you?" Ami asked, smiling and patting a cushion on the floor. Melina gave her a small smile and sat down on the cushion between Ami and Makoto.

"So, how are you? Have you been doing anything interesting?" Makoto asked. Melina smiled at Makoto.

"Well, it's been an... interesting week. First my birthday, which changed from the worst to the best day ever in a matter of seconds, then that Youma at school yesterday, and now I'm kinda feeling like I don't know who I am anymore," Melina said to Makoto.

"What do you mean, Melina? You're you," said Makoto, putting an arm around the girl, who looked like she was about to burst into tears.

"Yeah, I know I'm Melina, but it's like there's someone or something else inside of me that wants to take control. It's really scary," Melina said. The others stared at Melina.

"Well, whatever happens, we're here for you, Melina," Usagi said. The other girls nodded in agreement.

"Thanks, guys," she said quietly.

***

The three cats sat silently, thinking of the Moon Princess, when Sunshine felt a surge of Youma energy flow down her spine.

"I take it you two felt that too," Sunshine said, seeing the look on Luna and Artemis' faces. The two nodded.

"Look out!" shouted Artemis, jumping in front of a beam of purple light aimed at Luna.

"Artemis!" Luna screamed, as Artemis flew through the air and hit a tree, collapsing in a heap among the roots.

***

"Usagi, Makoto, Minako, Ami, we need to get Melina somewhere safe right now," said Rei, sensing the Youma outside.

"Is it a youma?" Makoto asked, looking at the door. Rei only nodded.

"I know how to get to Grampa's safe room under the Temple. C'mon!" said Rei, standing up.

"But... I haven't finished my cake..." Usagi whined, holding up her plate with a few crumbs on it.

"Yes you have, Usagi! This is an emergency!" Rei snapped, grabbing Usagi's hand and dragging her out the back door. Minako took Melina's hand and they, Makoto and Ami followed Rei and Usagi. Rei stopped at a trapdoor behind the shrine, fumbled with a key and opened the trapdoor.

"Quick Melina! Get in! You'll be safe here. We're going to get help," said Rei, glancing back as she heard a scream from out the front of the temple. Melina jumped into the room beyond, and Rei slammed the door behind her, before hurrying away. Melina sat in the cold room for about 3 seconds before she felt like she was going to freeze. She got up and opened the trapdoor, which Rei had forgotten to lock in her haste. She climbed out and ran around to the front, just in time to hear her friends shout:

"Moon Prism Power!"

"Mercury Power!"

"Mars Power!"

"Jupiter Power!"

"Venus Power!"

Melina watched as the five girls were engulfed in globes of coloured light, which faded to reveal the five Sailor Senshi. Melina gaped as Sunshine ran over to her.

"Melina, you have to hide! NOW!!"Sunshine ordered, glancing over her shoulder as a jet of purple light flew in their direction, missing them by millimetres.

"But..." Melina said, before Sunshine pushed her around the corner and out of sight.

"Melina, this is an emergency. We need to let the senshi handle it!" Sunshine said, glaring at Melina. Melina only moved away from Sunshine and peered around the corner, watching the Senshi battle a huge yellow dinosaur that was shooting purple light from it's mouth. Melina turned back to Sunshine.

"isn't there something we can do?" She asked desperately. Sunshine shook her head. Melina turned and peered around the corner again. She sat silently watching the battle for a while, then she noticed a blonde boy standing at the top of the Temple steps, watching in horror. David! _He must have come to see me, not expecting there to be a Youma here when he arrived!_ Melina thought. As Melina watched, one of the youma's beams of light flew towards the steps and hit David square in the chest.

"NOOOOO!!! DAVID!!!!" Melina screamed, rushing out towards him as he collapsed. She dodged and weaved around the beams of light until she reached David, and felt desperately for his pulse. It was very faint, but it was there. She sat weeping and stroking his hair, olivious to the purple lights that were flying around her. She thought only of David, and as she did, her anger and sadness merged inside of her. Suddenly, all the action stopped and all eyes turned to stare at the golden sun shape that had flared on Melina's forehead. Melina felt an incredible warmth flow through her body, and, though she wasn't sure how, she knew exactly what to do. She stood and screamed out:

"SUN PRISM POWER!!!!" Her brooch glowed and flashed, and then Melina was engulfed in a globe of golden light. When it faded, her white and gold dress was replaced by a white fuku with two gold stripes on the collar and boots. Her gold skirt, choker, earrings and tiara twinkled in the sunlight, and her braided hair now had a large gold bow at the end. Everyone gaped at her as she twirled around and posed.

"How dare you attack innocent people, especially cute boys like David! I'm the Sailor Senshi of Hope and Love. I'm Sailor Sun! And in the name of my guardian star, I shall destroy you!" the transformed Melina said, pointing at the dinosaur Youma. She held her hand above her head, and with a flash of golden light, her flute appeared. Sailor Sun placed the flute to her lips and began to play Amaterasu's lullaby, but this time it was not at all soothing. Instead, it was fierce and angry, and the Youma seemed to become paralysed by it. At the end of the lullaby, Sailor Sun pointed the sun shape on the end of the flute at the Youma, shouted, "Sun Golden Blast!" and shot a golden sun shape into the dinosaur's open mouth. The Youma screeched and then exploded into dust. Sailor Sun smiled happily at the other Senshi, then her eyes closed as she fainted.

"Sailor Sun!" the Senshi chorused, rushing over. They watched as her fuku glowed gold, then dissapeared to be replaced by her white dress.

"Melina, are you OK? Speak to me!" Sunshine said, sitting down beside her and patting her hand. The senshi looked at Sunshine in surprise.

"You can talk?" Sailor Venus asked. Sunshine nodded impatiently, patting Melina's hand harder.

"Come on, Melina, wake up. Open your eyes!" Sunshine begged, staring intently at Melina.

"Maybe she just needs some rest. Her transformation might have been a little overwhelming," Luna suggested. "Minako, Makoto, could you two carry her into the Temple, please?" Venus' and Jupiter's fuku glowed and then dissapeared, leaving Minako and Makoto in their normal clothes. They gently lifted Melina and carried her inside, Sunshine hurrying after them.

"Rei, Usagi, could you two take David in?" Luna asked, nodding at the blonde boy lying next to them. Mars and Moon nodded and detransformed into Rei and Usagi, then lifted David and carried him inside too.

"Ami, you should enter our new scout into your computer," Artemis said, looking at Mercury, who nodded and followed the others, detransforming into Ami as she walked. Once the Temple door closed, Artemis turned to Luna.

"Well, this _has_ been a busy day, hasn't it?" Artemis asked.

"Yes, it has. But at least we've found one of our two princesses," Luna said.

* * *

Author's notes: Well, I hope you like this chapter! It's been really difficult to write, as I kept veering off track and had to keep deleting parts to make it work properly. Please Review! I want to know what you think of Melina being Sailor Sun! Tune in next time for more exciting story!


	7. Who's That Girl?

Hi everyone! I've just got time to post this chapter before I go away on holidays. I hope you like it!

Disclaimer:

Sparrowflyaway (holds up magic wand): Accio Sailor Moon Rights! … (shakes wand furiously, filling the air with sparks) ...Darn it! Why isn't it working?!?

* * *

Minako gently tugged the blanket up to Melina's chin and looked out at the darkening sky.

"How is she?" she asked Rei, who was busily dabbing Melina's forehead with a cloth.

"She should be OK. Her transformation was probably a little shocking for her," Rei said, dipping the cloth into a bowl of water.

"What about her mother? She'll probably be worrying about her, won't she?" Usagi asked.

"Sunshine, do you know her home number?" Minako asked. Sunshine shook her head sadly.

"I'll bet David would know, if only he'd wake up," Makoto said, glancing across at the blonde boy on the other bed. Sunshine looked from Makoto to David, then jumped up onto the blanket beside David. She closed her eyes, and her sun began to glow, the light flowing down onto David's forehead. The glowing soon stopped, and as Sunshine slumped onto the blanket, David slowly opened his eyes to see Melina lying on the other bed, unconscious.

"Melina!" David cried, jumping out of his bed and rushing to Melina's side. "Melina, wake up!"

"She's in shock, David. She needs rest," Rei said.

"Shouldn't we take her to the hospital?" David asked, frantic.

"I don't know that a hospital could help her right now, David. She just needs to rest," Rei replied.

"And we need to call her Mum and tell her that Melina's spending the night here. Do you know their home number, David?" Minako asked. David nodded and passed Minako his mobile phone. She flipped it open and walked out of the room to make the call.

"Looks like a storm," Usagi noted, looking at the sky. Rei glanced outside and frowned.

"This doesn't feel like a normal storm," she said. "I get the feeling that the winds of change are blowing, and they're sending someone or something special our way..."

* * *

"Sora..." a voice whispered. Sora Arian opened her silver-gray eyes sleepily and looked out at the dark road flashing past.

"Did you say something, Daddy?" she asked, brushing her white-blonde fringe out of her face and looking over at her dark-haired father. Mr Arian glanced at Sora and shook his head, before turning his attention back to the road. Sora sighed and curled up against her pillow.

"Daddy, I don't like how we have to move all the time. Why can't we just find somewhere nice to stay? You know, for good?" Sora asked, closing her eyes and listening to the raindrops that began to patter on the car window.

"Honey, I've already explained why we have to sell our homes and move so often. It's because people are afraid of what you can do," Mr Arian said, glancing at his seven-year-old daughter. Sora sighed. _Yes, I know I'm different,_ she thought, opening her eyes and watching the rain get stronger. _But I wish that people weren't afraid of me because of my gifts._ Sora started to think about all her animal friends that she had left behind in her old town: Sammy the fox, Trigger and Digger the identical puppy twins, and Mimi the stray but unusually fat cat. As she thought of each of these, the raindrops falling onto the window quivered and formed an image of that animal. Sora smiled sadly and closed her eyes again, and as the car trundled into their new home town, Sora drifted off to sleep...

* * *

"How long do you think she'll be out, Rei?" Luna asked, looking at the priestess. Rei frowned.

"It's hard to say," she said, looking around at the others.

"I'm just glad we managed to convince David to go home," Minako said.

"I'm just glad that Mrs Pattini actually bought the story you told her, Minako," Makoto said. Minako smiled.

"What exactly did you tell her mum, Minako-chan?" Usagi asked.

"I told her that Melina spent the day with me, and that I was having a sleepover, and Melina said she'd like to come," Minako said, staring into her tea. Just then, they heard a crash from the next room, and rushed in to find Melina tossing and turning in bed, a shattered lamp lying on the floor beside the bed.

"What's going on?" Makoto asked.

"She's having her nightmare again," Sunshine said, jumping onto the bed beside Melina.

"Again?!? How many has she had?" Rei asked, not taking her eyes from the distressed girl.

"I'm not sure, but she's been having them for months," Sunshine said. "But it was only recently that she saw anything in them besides black mist."

"What's she seeing now?" Minako asked.

"You guys, strangely enough," Sunshine said, turning to look at the girls.

"Us?!?" they chorused, their eyes widening.

"Yes. Two days ago, after she went to bed, she saw both Usagi and Makoto appear in her dream," Sunshine said, looking away.

"Two days ago... That was when we met her!" Usagi said, looking at Makoto.

"Yes, and last night you were in her dream too, Minako, on the night directly after she met you," Sunshine said. She looked at Melina and added, "I suspect that Rei and Ami are in her dream now too, seeing as she met you two today."

"But how do you know that Ami-chan and Rei-chan would be in her dreams now too?" asked Usagi.

"Isn't it obvious, Usagi-chan? We're all Senshi!" Rei said impatiently.

"Ami! Rei!" Melina gasped out, before she began to kick and thrash. The girls and the cats backed up in alarm.

"What do we do?!?" Minako asked, watching Melina.

"We wait until she wakes up," Sunshine sighed, sitting down on the floor. The girls looked at each other worriedly, then sat down too.

***

"Amaterasu, you, beautiful, brave girl. You've done so much, my darling. I'm so proud of you," the ginger-haired woman said, clasping Melina's hand. As the woman's grip tightened, Melina's body began to glow gold, and then she jolted awake.

_***_

The girls and the cats watched wide-eyed as Melina's thrashing subsided.

"Is it over?" Minako asked, listening to Melina's harsh breathing.

"Oh, no, not yet," Sunshine said. Melina twitched and then sat bolt upright in bed, awake and breathing heavily.

"Melina, are you OK?" Sunshine asked, standing up. The others did the same, and went to sit by Melina's bedside. Melina glanced around dazedly, feeling rather disoriented.

"There, now, it's over. It was just a dream, Melina," Rei said, putting her hand on Melina's shoulder. As soon as the two girls touched, a flood of images of Melina's nightmare flowed into Rei's mind. Both Melina and Rei gasped, and Rei watched as the black mist faded in her mind's eye to reveal the six globes of light and the ginger-haired woman.

"What is it, Rei-chan?" Usagi asked, looking from Rei to Melina in concern. Rei shook her head to clear her mind.

"Is it OK if I tell them, Melina?" Rei asked. Melina stared blankly at her for a moment, then nodded. Rei smiled gently at Melina and began to describe the dream to the others.

_**------Some Time Later...------**_

"_Six_ bubbles?! But there's only five of us..." Usagi said, her brow furrowing.

"I know. I suspect this means that there's another Senshi out there somewhere," Rei said, standing and walking towards the door. "I'm going to consult the Great Fire about this..." she said, turning in the doorway to look at everyone. Her eyes came to rest on Melina. "In the meantime, Melina, you should be careful. And the rest of us," she said, looking around at the others again," we should keep an eye out for that new Senshi." Rei smiled comfortingly, then slid the door closed behind her..

"Another Senshi. That'd be helpful in the battles to come. Maybe she'll know where the Moon princess is," Luna said, looking at Artemis, who nodded in agreement.

"I hope so, because until we find her, we'll need to use everything we've got to keep the Negaverse at bay," Makoto said darkly.

"Hey, Usagi-chan, did you study for that big test on Monday?" Ami asked, pulling some books from her bag.

"Actually, Ami-chan, I did," Usagi said, smiling.

"Yeah? And what made you decide to study?" Luna asked.

"Well, I actually got sick of Mum yelling at me and locking me out of the house..." Usagi said sheepishly.

"Well we'd better go home and get some sleep, or you won't be able to remember any of what you studied when you take that test," Luna said. Usagi nodded and gathered up her things.

"G'night, everyone!" she said, hugging Melina.

"We'll be back early tomorrow to see how you are, Melina," Luna said, causing Usagi to utter a note of protest. Luna glared at her before they darted out into the rain, the door closing behind then. Minako turned and looked at Melina.

"You'd better get back to sleep, Melina," she said. Melina nodded and laid down on the bed as Ami, Makoto and Artemis stood and left the room. Minako gently pulled the blankets up to Melina's chin before switching off the light.

"We're here if you need us. Good night, Melina," Minako whispered, closing the door behind her.

* * *

"Zoisite, while I'm pleased that you've managed to retrieve the Rainbow Crystal from Sailor Moon, I'm still extremely disappointed that you have not yet retrieved the two crystals in the possession of Tuxedo Mask," Queen Beryl said, glaring at the brown-haired General kneeling before her.

"I'm sorry for failing you thus far in that respect, My Queen, but I have a plan to obtain both of those crystals from Tuxedo Mask," Zoisite said. Beryl frowned at her before nodding.

"Go. Set your plan into motion," Beryl said.

"I shall, My Queen," Zoisite said, getting to her feet.

"And Zoisite," Beryl said, looking daggers at the female General, "If you fail me this time, you know exactly what will happen."

* * *

"Hi, Mum! I'm home!" Usagi shouted, closing the door on the freezing rain that was pouring down.

"Usagi! You're home late tonight. We were about to start dinner without you," Ikuko Tsukino said, peering out of the kitchen. Usagi kicked her shoes off and smelled the scent of roast chicken that was hanging in the air. She and Luna ran into the kitchen, smiling happily.

* * *

"Sora..." a voice whispered. Sora's eyes jerked open at the sound of the voice, widening as they took in the white clouds beneath her feet and the blue sky above. She looked around and saw a girl who looked exactly like Sora kneeling before her. The girl stood and held out her hand, her silver and white Senshi fuku sparkling in the sunlight.

"Sora... The time has almost come, Sora... They need us... It is our Destiny..." the girl whispered, smiling. Sora wasn't sure why, but she lifted her hand to take the other girl's. As soon as they touched, there was a bright flash of light, and Sora jerked awake. She looked sleepily out the rain-soaked car window. _A dream,_ she thought. _It was just a very real dream. _She watched as her father pulling up in the driveway of a dark house.

"This is it, honey! Our new home. Did you have a good sleep?" Mr Arian asked, switching off the car and turning to Sora. Sora nodded and smiled, the dream lingering in her mind. Mr Arian opened the car door, hurried through the rain onto the porch of their new house, unlocked the front door and waved for Sora to come. Sora focused her mind and then opened the door, climbing calmly out into the rain, which parted and fell on either side of her as she walked up to the house. Mr Arian smiled and shook his head.

"Why couldn't you have done than for me?" he said, holding the door open for his daughter. Sora giggled.

"Well Daddy, I could have if only you'd asked me," she giggled, before stepping gracefully inside and looking around. Mr Arian closed the door and took his daughter's hand, guiding her around the house. They looked into the two bedrooms, the bathroom, the kitchen and the laundry, before Mr Arian turned to his daughter.

"Well, Sora, now that we've looked at all the rooms, which one would you like to have as your bedroom?" Mr Arian asked, ruffling his daughter's hair. Sora smiled and pointed upwards at the hatch above their heads. "You want to sleep in the attic? But it would get very cold up there, and..." Mr Arian trailed off as Sora's eyes took on an irresistible puppy dog look. "...Alright, sweetie, but you'll have to help me take your bed apart, because it's not going to fit through that hatch otherwise." Sora beamed and looked up at the hatch, which sprang open, the stairs unfolding to stop at Sora's feet. She ran up into the attic and began peering into the many boxes up there.

"Sora? We need to get all our things in before you start doing things like that," Mr Arian said, looking up into the attic. Sora pouted and ran back down the attic stairs, taking the hand that her father held out to her. They walked back onto the rain-spattered porch, where Sora let go of her father's hand and closed her eyes, clasping her hands in front of her. Slowly but surely, the rain parted, and soon there was no water falling on their yard. Mr Arian hurried back and forth from the car to the house, bringing all of their things in.

"That's the lot, I think. Thanks, sweetie," he said, stepping onto the porch with their pillows and sleeping bags in hand. Sora dropped her concentration in relief, and slumped onto the porch as the rain began to fall normally. Mr Arian picked his daughter up and carried her inside, shutting the door behind him.

* * *

Rei glanced out at the sunrise, then went and sat down in front of the Great Fire. She stared at the flickering Fire and thought about everything that had happened the previous day. _It's good that we've got Sailor Sun with us, _she thought. _But there could be another Senshi out there somewhere... And if there is, we need to find her. _She focused her mind and stared intently into the flames, and, slowly but surely, Rei saw an image of a young girl curled up asleep. Rei's eyes widened as she looked at the image of the small white-blonde girl, who looked like she was about seven years old. _Is that her?_ Rei wondered, watching as the image faded again. _Is that the other Senshi? Could she be... The Moon Princess?_

* * *

"Sora... it is our destiny, Sora... the time is almost upon us... the others need us..." the white-blonde Senshi whispered, holding out her hand, the clouds swirling around their feet. Sora smiled and reached out and took the Senshi's hand. There was a flash of white light, and then Sora jolted awake to find herself tangled in her sleeping bag beside her father's bedroom window. She wriggled in vain for a moment, before focusing her mind on the zipper, which unzipped almost immediately. She stood and walked into the kitchen, where Mr Arian was busily cooking bacon and eggs for breakfast.

"Hey there, honey, did you have good sleep?" Mr Arian asked, turning from the stove and passing Sora a fork and plate of bacon and eggs. Sora took them, smiled at her father and sat down on the windowsill to eat. Mr Arian turned off the stove and sat down beside his daughter.

"You'd better finish up your breakfast, sweetie, the movers are coming in about ten minutes, and I think we should probably get your bedroom started once they've unloaded everything," Mr Arian said, ruffling Sora's hair.

"But Daddy, I wanted to have a look around town," Sora said, a slight whine in her voice. Mr Arian smiled.

"Ok, I'll make you a deal. You help me get your bedroom started, and then you can go for a walk and explore town for a while," Mr Arian said. Sora beamed.

"Deal!" she said, before wolfing down the rest of her breakfast. She threw her plate towards the sink and then quickly focused on it, and it floated gently down into the sink. Sora grinned at her father and then hurried out the front door in time to see a large moving van pulling up.

* * *

"Usagi-chan... Usagi-chan!" Luna tapped Usagi on the head with her paw.

"Mmmnnnn... go away, Luna. I wanna sleep in..." Usagi groaned, rolling over and accidentally knocking Luna off the bed in the process. Luna sat up and sighed.

"We promised Melina we'd go check on her early today, Usagi," she said. Usagi sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"No, you promised her. You're just dragging me along with you," she said, stifling a yawn. While Usagi went into the bathroom to get ready, Luna went and sat on the windowsill, peering out at the cloudless morning. She noticed a moving van and a silver car outside the vacant house on the opposite side of the road. _I guess it's not vacant anymore,_ Luna thought, watching two men pull boxes, a table, chairs and two beds out of the van and haul them inside.

"Hey, what's going on over there?" Usagi asked, throwing a pink dress over her mussed, untied hair before coming and standing next to Luna. They watched as the now-empty van drove away, leaving a tall dark-haired man and a small, silver-blonde haired girl standing on the lawn waving goodbye. Luna looked at the girl, and a tingle of warm energy ran down her spine.

"Usagi, I think we'd better keep an eye on that girl. There's something strangely familiar about her..." Luna said.

"Who, that little girl? She looks harmless to me," Usagi said, looking at the girl.

"Well, looks can be deceiving, Usagi-chan. You're living proof of that," Luna said, still watching the girl across the road.

"And just what do you mean by that?!?" Usagi demanded, glaring at Luna.

"Usagi, I would never have dreamed that a klutzy crybaby like you could be Sailor Moon. I thought I'd said that already," Luna said, turning to look at Usagi. Usagi decided to ignore that comment, instead turning to her mirror and tying her hair up into the usual meatballs.

"Are you done?" Luna asked. Usagi turned to stare at Luna like she was crazy.

"Of course not, Luna! I haven't had any breakfast yet! I'm gonna make some pancakes," Usagi said, before darting out of her bedroom and running downstairs.

* * *

Sora ran inside as soon as the movers were gone and pulled all of the movers' tape off of her bed. Satisfied, she then focused her mind on the screws that held her bed together, and they all turned and shot out of the bed, bouncing off the walls as the bed fell apart with a loud crash. Mr Arian peeked in the doorway and shook his head defeatedly as Sora turned and grinned at him.

"Well done, Sora, but you need to get those up into the attic now," Mr Arian said, smiling. Sora just smiled while the pieces of her bed lifted off the ground and flew up the stairs. Sora followed them and stared up at the hatch, which sprang open once again. The bed pieces flew up into the attic and reassembled themselves into their original shape, the screws flying back into place. Sora dropped her concentration and sat down on the attic steps.

"That's good, honey, but your mattress won't fit through the hatch," Mr Arian said. Sora frowned and looked from the attic to her mattress and back again. She suddenly smiled again, and Mr Arian just shook his head defeatedly as he watched the tiles begin to levitate off the roof, creating a mattress-sized hole.

* * *

Author's notes: I watched an episode of Heroes before writing this, so when I introduced Sora, I thought it would be cool to give her the power of Telekinesis(the ability to move objects using only thought). Oh, and by the way, Sora is Japanese for sky, and Arian is Welsh for silver. Please review! I would like to see lots of new reviews when I get back next week! Stay tuned for the next chapter!


	8. Memories

Hello everyone! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to write any of my story on the do-nothing holiday, because I spent it doing homework. But I've been working hard on both this week (and getting up really early in the morning sometimes), so I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer:

Sparrowflyaway: "*cackling maniacally* I am about to set my Master Plan in motion. Soon the rights to Sailor Moon shall be mine! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! … ...Oh, wait. I'd need to get to Japan to set my Master Plan in motion. I don't have nearly enough money! How am I going to get an expensive plane ticket to Japan if I can't afford one? Also, I'd need to speak Japanese before I could set my Master Plan in motion. *sigh* Foiled again..."

* * *

"Say, Luna, what exactly is so familiar about that little girl?" Usagi asked, looking down at her midnight-blue friend as they walked through the park. Luna frowned thoughtfully.

"Well, she looks very familiar, but it's not just that. I keep sensing a very strong aura around her. It's unlike anything I've ever sensed before," Luna said. Usagi couldn't help giggling.

"That's a lot like what you said when you first met Sunshine," Usagi said, smiling

"Hey, Usagi-chan? You there?" Rei's voice echoed out of Usagi's bag. She stopped walking and pulled out her communicator.

"What's up, Rei-chan?" Usagi asked.

"I asked the Fire about that sixth scout from Melina's dreams, and I got a picture of a little girl. She looks about seven and she has white-blonde hair," Rei said. Usagi and Luna gasped simultaneously and looked at each other.

"Rei-chan, Luna and I just saw a girl who looked exactly like that," Usagi said, turning back to her communicator.

"Looks like we'd better head back and keep an eye on her," Luna said, before jumping up onto Usagi's shoulder. "Can you take care of Melina, Rei?" Rei nodded.

"Sure thing. But she doesn't really need me to take care of her. She's doing much better than yesterday," Rei said, smiling.

"That's good to hear. Call us if anything changes, OK?" Luna said.

"OK. Let me know if you guys find out anything," Rei said, before the screen went blank. Usagi slipped her communicator back into her bag, turned and began to walk home again.

* * *

Mr Arian walked up the stairs with a glass of milk, and was just in time to see the last roof tile zoom back into place. Sora slumped onto the end of the attic steps and sighed exhaustedly.

"I think that'll do for today, honey. Why don't you go for a walk and get some fresh air?" Mr Arian said, holding out the glass of milk for Sora, who took it gratefully and gulped it down.

"OK, Daddy," she said, giving the empty glass back to her father. She stood, walked downstairs and out the front door.

* * *

"Hey, look, there she goes!" Usagi said, pointing up the road. "Should I go say hi?"

"No, I think it's best to just keep an eye on her for now. We still don't know who she is," Luna said. Usagi nodded and ran after the little girl.

* * *

Melina woke to find Sunshine curled up on the end of the bed asleep. She's probably exhausted, Melina thought, smiling as she pictured her faithful companion watching over her all night. Melina stood and crept outside, where she sat down beside the door with her back against the Temple wall and stared absently into the distance. _I can't believe I'm a senshi,_ she thought, a small smile playing on her lips. _It just feels so right._

"Good morning, Princess. How are you today?" Sunshine asked, walking outside. Melina squirmed uncomfortably at the title.

"Sunshine, it feels strange, you calling me Princess. Why are you doing it again?" Melina asked. Sunshine smiled.

"I didn't get the chance to tell you yesterday, what with you transforming and all, but I will tell you today. But I think it would be wise if the other Senshi were present too, so you may have to wait until later," Sunshine said, curling up beside Melina. Melina sighed resignedly and stared off into the distance, thinking about what had happened yesterday. She had felt so frightened when she saw David collapse...

"David! What happened to him?" Melina said, sitting up.

"He's fine. The others made him go home," Sunshine smiled. Melina relaxed and thought about how wonderful it felt to be a Senshi.

* * *

_Great, I'm lost, _Sora thought, glancing around the street. _Where am I? _She looked around and noticed a sign that said "Cherry Hill Temple" pointing to a set of stairs going up a hill with trees on either side. _Maybe someone there can help me,_ Sora thought, walking towards the steps.

***

"Hey, she's heading to the Temple!" Usagi said, pulling out her communicator. "Rei-chan! Are you there?"

"What is it, Usagi-chan? I'm in the middle of making breakfast for Melina," Rei asked shortly.

"She's headed your way, Rei-chan!" Usagi said. Rei gave her a puzzled look.

"Who is?" she asked.

"That little girl we've been following! She's going to the Temple!" Rei gave her an astonished look and then turned off her communicator without another word. "Rei-chan-! What do I do now?" Usagi asked.

"Follow her!" Luna said impatiently. Usagi nodded and ran towards the steps leading to the Temple.

* * *

Melina's thoughts about yesterday were cut short by a small voice.

"E-excuse me, but I'm lost. Where am I?" the small girl asked, her silver-blonde hair sparkling in the sunlight. Melina and Sunshine stared at the girl, both thinking how strangely familiar she was. Sunshine tore her gaze from the girl and leapt onto Melina's shoulder.

"Introduce yourself, Melina," Sunshine mumbled into Melina's ear. Melina smiled at the girl as she stepped forward.

"Hi, I'm Melina. What's your name?" Melina asked, extending her hand to shake hands with the girl.

"S-Sora. I-I'm Sora," the young girl stuttered, shaking Melina's hand. As soon as they touched, a new memory began to unfold in the minds of Melina, Sora and Sunshine...

* * *

"_Come along, Amaterasu, it's almost time for Senshi Training," Sunshine said, dragging __Amaterasu's unicorn toy from her grasp and throwing it onto a bookshelf. A thirteen-year old Amaterasu pouted at the sight of her beloved toy being thrown so unceremoniously onto a shelf._

"_But, Sunshine! Do I really have to have more Senshi Training? All I seem to do is get hurt!" Amaterasu whined, dragging a chair over to the bookshelf and scrambling onto it to retrieve the toy. Sunshine's sun shape flashed, and the chair slid away from the bookshelf before she could reach her goal. Amaterasu pouted again and sat down in the chair._

"_Well, at least you won't be alone in Senshi Training today, darling," a voice said. Sunshine and Amaterasu turned to see King Alexander entering the room, his large hand entwined with that of a seven-year-old girl with waist-length, silver-blonde hair. Amaterasu smiled happily at the sight of the little girl._

"_Hey, 'Ra! What'cha doin'?" Amaterasu giggled, running to the girl's side and taking her hand._

"_Hi, 'Su. I'm so hot!" the girl smiled, fanning herself._

"_Now, you be nice to your cousin, won't you, Aurora?" Alexander asked. The silver-blonde girl nodded, smiling cheekily. Alexander knelt beside Sunshine as the girls ran around the room, pushing chairs towards the bookshelf in an attempt to retrieve Amaterasu's toy._

"_I think it would be wise for us to keep an eye on Aurora. She still doesn't know how to control that rare power of hers, and she hasn't awoken as a Senshi yet either. Who knows what sort of mischief she could get up to," Alexander whispered, ducking as Aurora sent a vase flying across the room. Amaterasu dove, managing to catch the vase. She got to her feet, suddenly stern._

"_Aurora, that was Mummy's favourite vase. Don't you dare break it, or I shall get very angry," Amaterasu scolded, passing the vase gently to her father. Amaterasu cast one final withering look at Aurora, before leaving the room._

"_Sunshine, isn't it time for Senshi Training?" she called over her shoulder. Sunshine smiled as Aurora ran after her older friend. Sunshine bowed to Alexander, then hurried after the two girls, catching their conversation as they walked down the hall._

" _'Su, I'm real sorry for almost breaking your mum's vase," Aurora said, walking beside Amaterasu. The older girl sniffed, then her angry look faded as she spotted the golden vehicle that was to take them to the Moon._

"_Look at that! It's so pretty, isn't it? Come on, 'Ra, let's hurry and get in!" Amaterasu said gleefully, grabbing her friend's hand and hurrying towards the vehicle._

* * *

Sunshine leapt off Melina's shoulder and Melina and Sora reeled away from one another as a second memory emerged just seconds after the first one...

* * *

"_OK, girls, enough chatter. We're here for Senshi Training, remember?" Sunshine said, before climbing out of the vehicle and bowing to the waiting Queen and Princess of the Moon._

"_Good afternoon, Amaterasu, Aurora. And thank you for escorting them once again, Sunshine. Perhaps you'd like to go and have some refreshments in the palace while Athena and Aphrodite take Amaterasu and Aurora for Senshi Traning," Queen Serenity said._

"_Thank-you, Queen Serenity, but King Alexander requested that I keep an eye on the girls, and I intend to," Sunshine said, bowing again. Queen Serenity smiled and nodded._

"_Who are Athena and Aphrodite?" Aurora whispered to her older friend as the stepped out of the vehicle._

"_Mercury and Venus. They're nicer than Mars, but they're still really strong," Amaterasu whispered __back, her smile turning into a look of fear as the two Senshi emerged from the palace._

"_Hello, Amaterasu! How are you today?" Venus asked, smiling. Amaterasu smiled back weakly and followed Venus and Mercury, her hand still clinging tightly to Aurora's. The four girls, along with Queen Serenity, Princess Serenity and Sunshine, walked through the palace to a courtyard, where they found Mars throwing fireballs at a number of targets. Amaterasu's eyes widened as soon as she spotted the Fire Senshi, and immediately tried to hide behind Venus._

"_Nice, try, Amaterasu, but you're not getting away that easily," Mars said, walking over and dragging Amaterasu out into the open. She let Amaterasu go when she was on the opposite side of the courtyard, and then stood between Amaterasu and the others._

"_Ares, Queen Serenity said that Athena and I will be training Amaterasu and her cousin today, not you. Now put that away," Venus said, pointing to the dancing flame that Mars had conjured. The Fire Senshi pouted._

"_You're not Queen Serenity or Princess Serenity, so stop giving me orders, Aphrodite," Mars called over her shoulder, extinguishing the flame anyway. "Looks like you got lucky," she said to the cowering princess before her, before turning and walking towards the door that the others had come through._

"_I may not be Princess Serenity, Mars, but I am her cousin, and she wouldn't be happy if I just stood by and let you start flaming Amaterasu, now would she?" Venus said, glaring at Mars. Mars just shrugged and left. Venus turned to Amaterasu and smiled._

"_There, now, it's OK. She's gone. Shall we get started?" Venus asked. Amaterasu wiped her eyes and nodded._

"_Aphrodite, shall I take Amaterasu and you take Aurora, and we can swap over later?" Mercury asked. Venus nodded, and turned back to Amaterasu._

"_Good luck!" she said, before the four girls spilt up and walked to opposite ends of the courtyard._

"_Are you ready, Amaterasu?" Mercury asked, opening her hand and conjuring a glowing snowball. Amaterasu looked at the snowball apprehensively, but she nodded. Mercury smiled and threw the snowball at Amaterasu, who quickly dodged out of the way, a large, spiky ice crystal forming on the spot where she had been standing. Amaterasu stared at the crystal for a second, before remembering that Mercury was there and running away from another snowball. After about five minutes, their half of the courtyard resembled an iceberg, and Amaterasu was running out of room to run away from the snowballs. On the other side of the courtyard, Aurora wasn't faring much better. She was only just able to avoid Venus' Love Chain and the glowing orange hearts that she kept throwing. She ducked behind a fountain and panted hard, wishing she could go back to having fun, like she and Amaterasu had been doing earlier. She remembered wanting to throw something at the toy to knock it off the table, and how she had thought that the only thing big enough to knock it off was the shelf. _If only I could use that power now, _she thought, I_'d stand a chance against Venus. _Aurora closed her eyes and searched deep inside herself for her power. She sensed a strong power in her heart, and, thinking that that was what she was searching for, unleashed it. Venus, who had crept up on Aurora, was just about to throw another love heart at her, but dropped it in shock at the silver five-pointed star glowing on Aurora's forehead. Aurora opened her eyes and smiled, before being enclosed in a silver ball of light, which faded to reveal Aurora dressed in a silver and white Senshi fuku._

"_Oh! Aurora's awoken her Senshi powers!" Venus shouted. Everyone turned to look at Aurora, who opened her eyes and stared in amazement at her outfit._

"_Sailor Orion. Finally," Queen Serenity said, smiling at the newly transformed senshi. A warm, gentle breeze blew through the courtyard, a phemomenon that everyone noted was rare and strange, as there was no wind on the Moon. Sailor Orion smiled at Venus._

"_You ready to try again, Aphrodite?" Orion asked, smiling. Venus smiled back and conjured another glowing orange heart, which she threw at Sailor Orion. Sailor Orion simply twirled her arms and whipped up a strong wind, which blew the orange heart back into Venus face, exploding on impact. The Senshi of Love stumbled backwards, clutching her stinging nose._

"_Nice one, Aurora. I think that'll do for today. Besides, it looks like Mercury's about to turn Amaterasu into a popsicle," Venus said, nodding towards the other two, who had also resumed training. No sooner had Venus said this, than Mercury scored a direct hit with a snowball, and Amaterasu shrieked before being frozen in an ice crystal._

"_Oh dear, we'd better get Mars to come and help her out," Mercury said, staring at the terrified look on Amaterasu's frozen face._

"_No need," Sailor Orion said, before conjuring a strong jet of wind, which she used to cut away the ice surrounding her friend. Finally, Amaterasu was free, but her skin had taken on an icy blue colour, and she was shivering and backing away from Mercury._

"_Come on, 'Su, let's go inside and warm up," said Sailor Orion, her fuku glowing and fading back into her princess dress. Amaterasu stared at her friend, before smiling and taking her hand. Aurora flinched at the coldness of Amaterasu's hand, but didn't let go, instead leading her older friend into the palace. Sunshine watched them go, before shaking her head and turning to Queen Serenity._

"_Well, at least the Senshi training worked for one of the girls," she said. Queen Serenity nodded in agreement._

"_And it was her first session of Senshi Training. It's amazing that her Senshi powers awoke so fast," Serenity said. Sunshine bowed to Queen Serenity and went to find the girls._

* * *

The three backed away from one another, feeling dazed and disoriented. Seconds later, Rei emerged from the Temple to find them staring at each other. Rei instantly registered that this girl looked exactly like the one she had seen in the Fire.

"Are you OK, Melina?" Rei asked, tapping Melina on the shoulder. Melina flinched away form the touch, her mind reeling from the memories. Sora shook her head to clear it, then noticed how much Melina looked like that girl who had been frozen, and how much Melina's cat looked like that other cat called Sunshine.

"Did I miss something?" Rei asked, looking from Melina to Sora and back again. Melina jumped a little at the sound of Rei's voice.

"I-I'll explain inside, Rei-chan. It was nice to meet you, Sora," Melina said, before picking up Sunshine and walking inside. Rei smiled at the little girl, before noticing Usagi and Luna standing at the top of the steps.

"Hi, Usagi-chan. What brings you here?" Rei asked, knowing full well the real answer, but expecting not to get it.

"What, do I need a reason to visit my friends now?" Usagi giggled.

"Well, I'm kinda busy right now. Melina just went inside, and she's acting pretty weird," Rei replied.

"Oh, really? Is she OK?" Usagi asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I think so," Rei said. Usagi smiled and nodded to Rei, who smiled back and went inside. Usagi turned to the small girl beside her.

"Hi, Sora, is it? I'm Usagi. Are you OK? You look a little lost," Usagi said. Sora tore her gaze away from the door to look at Usagi.

"Yeah, I am a little lost, I just moved here with my Daddy. I went for a walk and lost track of where I was going," Sora said, blushing a little. Usagi smiled.

"I know you just moved here. I live right across the road, and I watched the movers carrying in all of those things from the moving van," Usagi said, smiling. Sora stared at her for a moment before smiling.

"Would you be able to take me home, then, Usagi?" she asked.

"Sure, I'd be happy to!" Usagi replied, holding out her hand for Sora to take. Sora took her hand, happy that she had found a friend so quickly in her new town. Neither of the girls noticed the thoughtful expression on Luna's face as she tried to remember why this little girl looked so familiar.

* * *

Author's notes: this was a fun chapter to write, but I had to weave it in around homework, meals, sleep and the other stories that I'm starting(I'll get them up soon, I promise!) Stay tuned!


	9. The Silver Wind Senshi

Disclaimer: Friends are like potatoes, if you eat them, they die. I suspect that the same is true for Sailor Moon Rights, but I don't know for sure. I've never owned Sailor Moon, so I've never had the opportunity to find out.

* * *

"So, Sora, how do you like Tokyo so far?" Usagi asked, smiling at the little girl who was clasping her hand. Sora looked up at the blonde and couldn't help but feel that this older girl was familiar. Shaking that observation from her mind, Sora smiled back.

"Well, I haven't really seen very much, but it's pretty nice so far," she replied. The two walked in silence for a moment, before Sora asked,

"Usagi? Have you ever met Sailor Moon?" Usagi thought for a moment. _Technically, yes, I have met Sailor Moon,_ she thought. _I _am _Sailor Moon. But what should I tell Sora?_

"Yeah, I have. I actually know her pretty well," Usagi said finally. Sora's eyes lit up.

"Really? You mean you're friends with Sailor Moon? Whoa! That's fantastic! When did you meet her?" Sora asked eagerly. _OK, Usagi, now what?_ Usagi thought. She thought back over all the youma battles that she had had, and remembered the youma in her favourite hangout, Crown Arcade. Usagi decided to use that to explain.

"I actually met her at Crown Arcade, last week. There was this massive youma there. It looked kind of like a pile of jelly, except it stunk really bad, and kept throwing this thick orange slime everywhere," Usagi said. Sora made a face as she imagined the youma that Usagi was describing, but the smile never left her face.

"Oh, wow! Did the youma slime you, Usagi?" Sora asked. Usagi smiled, glad that she didn't have to make up the answer to that question.

"Yeah, it did. I could hardly move, and it made me so tired," Usagi said, noticing the happy look in Sora's eyes at hearing about Sailor Moon's adventures. "Are you a fan of Sailor Moon, Sora?" Usagi asked. Sora nodded fiercely.

"Oh, yeah, she's the best! I'd love to meet her one day," Sora said dreamily. Usagi giggled, and then the conversation dissolved into silence again. The two girls and Luna didn't go much further when Luna heard Usagi's communicator beep, and jumped up onto Usagi's shoulder. Usagi glanced in her bag and found that the Venus button was flashing. Apologising quickly to Sora about having to take the call, she turned away and pressed the Venus button.

"What's up, Minako-chan?" Usagi asked.

"There's trouble at the mall! Ami-chan and I need your help!" Minako said frantically, turning her communicator to display an image of Sailor Mercury focusing a haze of bubbles around what looked like an abnormally large, bright pink rooster. Usagi glanced back at Sora, who was watching her intently.

"I'll be there as soon as I can, Minako-chan," Usagi said, before switching off her communicator and turning to Sora.

"Hey, sorry about this, Sora, but my friends need my help. We're gonna have to run home really quick so I can go, OK?" Usagi said. Sora looked confused, but nodded. The two girls linked hands and began to run towards their neighbourhood.

* * *

"A little help here?!?" Mercury yelled at Minako.

"Right! Venus Power!" Minako shouted. A second later, Sailor Venus stepped from the globe of orange light and posed. She wasted no time in pointing at the youma. "Venus Crescent Beam Smash!" A yellow beam of light streaked across the room and blasted the rooster-youma's crest off. It squawked as dust began to trickle from the wound.

"I got it!" Venus squealed, jumping up and down in excitement. The youma glared at her and flapped its wings, firing a spray of pink feathers at Venus, which pinned her to the wall.

"Uh-oh," Venus gulped. The youma roared triumphantly.

* * *

"OK, this is our street, Sora. Can you get yourself home from here? I have to go grab something from my house," Usagi said turning to Sora, who looked extremely puffed. Sora took a deep breath and nodded. Usagi left Sora standing on the footpath outside her house and hurried across the road to her own house. She dashed upstairs and began digging throught the piles of clothes on the floor.

"Where is it... come on... where are you, you stupid brooch?!?" Usagi yelled, becoming frantic. Luna glared at Usagi.

"You left home without your brooch?!? What in the world were you thinking, Usagi?!?" Luna yelled, her eyes blazing. Usagi ignored her and continued digging through the clothes.

***

On the other side of the road, Sora watched Usagi's house intently, waiting for Usagi to reappear. After about 20 seconds, Sora became bored, and grabbed her white roller-skates with rather bad Sailor Moon drawings on the sides from inside the front door. She strapped them on and began rolling up and down the driveway, waiting patiently.

***

"Ah-ha! There you are!" Usagi said, throwing her pillow off the bed and finding the brooch underneath. She quickly pinned it on and ran downstairs and out the door.

***

Sora looked up as she heard a door slam, and saw Usagi running down the street. Sora quickly realised that she would never be able to keep up with Usagi at the rate she was running, and so, quickly summoning her powers, Sora created a telepathic lasso around Usagi. The next thing Sora knew, she was hurtling down the street, pulled along by Usagi, who didn't even notice that she was dragging Sora behind her. A couple of blocks later, Sora became tired from focusing her concentration, and lost her grip on the lasso. She slowly rolled to a stop and watched as Usagi sped away from her.

"Darn," Sora muttered. "I wonder what was so important." Sora began skating as fast as she could after Usagi.

* * *

"Rei-chan! Mel-chan! Great timing!" Usagi said, arriving at the mall at the same time as Rei and Melina. There was a loud CRASH from somewhere in the mall, and the three girls glanced around, before a determined look appeared on their faces.

"Moon Prism Power!"

"Sun Prism Power!"

"Mars Power!" the girls shouted, before there pink, gold and red lights flashed, and they stood in their Senshi Fukus.

"Let's go!" Sailor Moon said. The other two nodded, and they hurried into the mall. A trail of broken glass led them to a food court, where Mercury was desperately trying to keep the youma away from Venus, who was struggling to get the feathers out of the wall so that she could help Mercury fight.

"Sailor Moon! Mars! Sun! Thank goodness!" cried Venus, relief spreading over her face. Sailor Moon stepped forward and pointed at the youma.

"Hey, ugly! I can't allow a bird-brain like you to run wild in the mall, the best place for shopping! I'm Sailor Moon! And in the name of the Moon, I shall punish you!"

"I may not care much about shopping, but I'm Sailor Mars, and I shall punish you in the name of Mars!"

"Despite the fact that I don't very often have money to spend at the mall, there are plenty of other girls out there who do, and I won't let you ruin their fun! I'm Sailor Sun, and in the name of my guardian star, I shall punish you!" Sailor Moon turned to Sailor Sun.

"You know, you're a natural at monologues," she said. Sailor Sun smiled.

"Thanks!" she replied.

"Um, guys?!? I could do with a little help over here!!" Mercury yelled, before the rooster-youma flapped its wings and dispersed the bubbles that Mercury had used to hold it back. It then opened its mouth and fired a dark beam at Mercury, who screamed in pain and collapsed to the floor, panting heavily. The youma picked her up in it beak and flung her towards her team mates. Mars quickly caught Mercury and set her on her feet.

"You OK?" Mars asked. Mercury nodded, moving to turn back to the youma, but instead found herself looking at the floor: her knees had buckled from underneath her.

"Mercury, you just rest. I'll take care of this big chicken," Sailor Moon said, taking off her tiara and preparing to use it. The youma noticed and simply opened its mouth to fire another dark beam at her. Sailor Moon immediately realised that she would not have time to throw her tiara, or even to jump out of the way. She closed her eyes and braced herself as the beam came flying through the air towards her. A split second later, Sailor Moon heard an ear-splitting scream of agony, and opened her eyes to find a girl standing between her and the youma. The girl turned to look at Sailor Moon, who gasped when she recognised the pain-riddled face. _Sora._ Sora collapsed into Sailor Moon's arms, a weak smile playing in her lips.

"I couldn't let anything happen to you, Sailor Moon. You're my hero," Sora muttered, her eyelids sinking as she passed out.

"Sora! Sora, wake up! Sora!" Sailor Moon pleaded, shaking the unconscious girl.

* * *

Sora felt pain coursing fiercely through her veins as her world turned black. She closed her eyes, wishing for it all it be over. Suddenly, bright light blazed all around her, and the pain vanished. She opened her eyes to find herself on clouds once again, with blue sky all around her. _My dream?_ Sora wondered, looking around. _No, this is no dream. It's too real..._ She looked down and found the familiar Senshi kneeling before her.

"Sora... Welcome. It's been a long time since we were together," the Senshi said, getting to her feet.

"I don't mean to be rude, but who are you?" Sora asked. The Senshi smiled.

"I am the Senshi and guardian of Wind. My name is Sailor Orion. I am also your guardian, Sora," the Senshi said.

"Sailor Orion... Wait, if you're the guardian of Wind, and you're also my guardian, does that mean that I'm the Wind?" Sora asked, feeling rather confused. Sailor Orion giggled.

"Well, yes, I suppose it does, in a way," she said.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"You'll get the answers to all your questions, Sora. You just have to do one thing."

"What do I have to do?"

"Let me in."

* * *

Sailor Moon tried to choke back her tears as she laid Sora gently on the floor. Mars, Mercury and Sun charged towards the youma to distract it until Sailor Moon was ready to leave Sora's side and fight. The three Senshi began firing their attacks at the youma.

"Mercury Bubbles Blast!"

"Mars Fire Ignite!"

"Sun Golden Blast!" Bubbles, fire and sun shapes went flying at the youma, which managed to avoided them by millimetres. Mars' flames hit a light switch, and suddenly the room was plunged into darkness.

"Good job, Mars," Sun said sarcastically.

* * *

"Huh? Let you in?" Sora became even more confused.

"Don't worry, it's a good thing. You just need to let our minds become one, and accept my power. Please, Sora. Sailor Moon and the other Senshi need our help. It is our destiny to become one, because, well, I am you."

"What do mean, you're me?" Sora asked, her heart racing.

"I have always been a part of you, Sora. You just didn't know it until now." Sora stood staring at Sailor Orion, and the pieces began to fall into into place in her mind. Her strange power, her dreams, even her having to move to a different town every few months. _It was Destiny all along,_ Sora thought, her eyes widening. _Everything happened so that, eventually, I would be here in Tokyo to help Sailor Moon._ Sora got an excited bubbly feeling in her stomach at the thought of fighting alongside her hero.

"Are you ready to face Destiny together, Sora?" Sailor Orion asked, holding out her gloved hand as she had done in Sora's dreams. Sora smiled.

"Right now, I feel ready for anything," Sora said, taking Sailor Orion's hand. Sailor Orion's tiara disappeared immediately, to be replaced by a glowing silver star – the symbol of Orion. At the same time, the Orion symbol also appeared on Sora's forehead. Sailor Orion nodded upon seeing the symbol on Sora's forehead, then whispered one word:

"Go."

* * *

Mars conjured up a flame in the palm of her hand to see where everyone was, then immediately extinguished it when the youma fired a dark beam in the direction of the light. Sailor Sun walked carefully over to where Sailor Moon sat.

"You OK, Sailor Moon?" Sailor Sun whispered. Sailor Moon sniffed, then both gasped as the room was lit up with a soft, silver-white light that emanated from Sora's forehead, a silver star appearing there. Sora slowly opened her eyes and sat up, her energy returning rapidly.

"Sora, are you OK?" Sailor Moon asked. Sora was about to say, "You know my name?!?" but was distracted by a flash of silver by her hand. She looked down and saw a gold transformation pen with a silver star on it. She picked it up and smiled, listening to Sailor Orion's voice echoing in her ears.

"We are one now, Sora. The stars of Orion are all behind you, as am I. I give you the power of my guardian constellation Orion. Call it forth, Sora and vanquish the evil." The youma roared and fired yet another dark beam at them. Just then, a figure jumped down from the floor above and shielded the Senshi with it's black cape, before quickly throwing half a dozen red roses at the youma. The youma shrieked and tried to pull the roses out as the figure turned to smile at them.

"Oh, Tuxedo Mask, you came!" Sailor Moon exclaimed happily. She then turned to Sora. "You'd better use that now," she said. Sora nodded and got to her feet, looking fierce. She held the pen in the air and shouted,

"Orion Power!" The seven-year-old girl was enclosed in a silver-white orb of light, which faded to reveal Sailor Orion. Just then, the lights came back on, making the silver material in her fuku and the two silver ribbons in her hair sparkle. Orion smiled as she examined the silver boots and skirt, then reached up and felt the tiara on her forehead. She suddenly looked determined, and turned to the youma.

"I like most animals, but you're definitely not one of my favourites. I'm Sailor Orion! And with the power of the constellation Orion, I will punish you!" Sailor Orion shouted. She raised her arms above her head and twirled around, creating a miniature tornado around herself.

"Orion Silver Cyclone!" she shouted, sending the tornado speeding across the room, trapping the youma inside it.

"Finish it off, Sailor Moon!" Orion said, turning to her hero. Sailor Moon nodded and took off her tiara.

"Moon Tiara Magic!" Sailor Moon shouted, throwing the tiara. The youma screeched and then exploded into dust as the tiara made contact.

"Well done, Sailor Moon. Until next time," Tuxedo Mask said, before turning and leaping up to the next floor. Sailor Moon stared longingly after him, before almost getting knocked over by Orion, who had rushed to hug her.

"Yes! You got it! That was amazing, Sailor Moon!" Orion gushed, looking up at Sailor Moon with stars in her eyes. Sailor Moon smiled.

"You weren't so bad yourself, Orion. Welcome to the team," Sailor Moon replied.

"Um, excuse me, but could someone please GET ME DOWN?!?" Venus yelled, still pinned to the wall. The others took one look at Venus and burst out laughing.

* * *

Author's Notes: I wasn't really sure when to have Sora transform, but when I was writing this chapter, it seemed like the perfect time. Stay tuned! And please review! So far there's only been three different people reviewed my story. I want you opinions, people!


	10. Friends And Enemies

Hello! Sorry this chapter has taken such a long time! It's been hard to find time to write in between Year 12, my other story and a really bad case of writer's block on this story. Plus I also went ahead and wrote a rough idea for what will happen in the final chapter of this story. I can't wait until we reach the final chapter. Oooh, I'm so excited! Anyway, I hope you like chapter 10!

Oh, and I've created a fan page on Facebook for this story. The link is on my profile if you want to have a look!

Disclaimer:

**Mamoru:** Hey, Usako, did you hear that there are people out there claiming to own Sailor Moon?

**Usagi:** What?!? No fair!!! WAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

**Mamoru: **Hey, it's OK, Usako. There aren't many of those dishonest people out there. Most people are honest, and they'll freely admit that they don't own Sailor Moon.

**Usagi: **R-really? Like who?

**Sparrowflyaway: **Like me, Usagi-chan. I know I don't own Sailor Moon, and I'm not about to tell anyone otherwise.

**Usagi:** Chrissy-chan! Thank goodness I've got friends like you.

**Sparrowflyaway: **It's nothing, Usagi-chan. Don't worry about it. Anyone who's dishonest and says that they do own Sailor Moon is probably gonna get sued anyway.

* * *

"See you later, Sailor Moon. We'd better get going," said Mars, seizing Sailor Sun's shoulders and leading her away. Sailor Sun glanced back as they turned a corner, wanting to talk to Sailor Orion about her memory of the new Senshi.

"Yeah, I'd better go too. I can't be late for cram school again," Mercury said, smiling at Orion and leaving.

"Hey, Venus, isn't that new guy at the arcade so cute?" Jupiter asked. Venus' eyes widened.

"I had no idea that there was a new guy at the arcade! Come on, let's go meet him!" Venus said. Jupiter seized Venus' hand and they ran away towards the arcade.

"Come on, Sora, let's get you home," Sailor Moon said, putting her arm around the newest senshi's shoulders.

"Sailor Moon? One question: how do you know my name?" Sora asked, her silver-and-white fuku fading back into her normal clothes. Sailor Moon smiled and stepped back, then let her senshi fuku fade. Sora stared in wonder at her.

"U... Usagi?" Sora whispered. Usagi smiled and nodded. Sora gaped at Usagi for a moment, before grinning and hugging her.

"This is so exciting! I actually live near my favourite superhero!" Sora sighed happily.

"Yeah, and what's more, you're a Sailor Senshi too," Usagi said, smiling.

"Oh, yeah! I forgot!" Sora exclaimed, smiling and touching the transformation pen in her pocket. The two girls set off down the road, and had gotten about half a block away from the mall when Sora yelled,

"I can't believe I'm a Senshi!"

"Shhh, not so loud! Don't shout it out to everyone, Sora. You never know who's listening. The Negaverse could find out who you are and come after you," Usagi whispered, glancing around.

"Oh, sorry!" Sora whispered, looking around as if she expected someone from the Negaverse to pop out and attack them. A few metres away, on top of a building, Zoisite listened to Sora's joyous cry, and smiled as she thought how this little girl would be useful for her plan. She chuckled quietly and disappeared in a whirl of black petals. Meanwhile, Usagi and Sora were walking down the street smiling happily as they quietly discussed the day's events, when Usagi somehow managed to trip over a snail and fell, knocking over a tall, black-haired man wearing a green jacket.

"Oh, sorry! I- Mamoru? How come you always show up around me!?" Usagi asked, scrambling to her feet. Mamoru Chiba got to his feet and brushed a little dirt off of his jacket, before looking at the klutzy blonde before him.

"Speak for yourself, Odango. Are you stalking me because I'm so handsome?" he asked, pretending to pose like a weightlifter. Usagi poked her tongue out at him and pushed him into a mud puddle.

"In your dreams, jerk! And stop calling me Odango Atama," She said, before seizing Sora's hand. "Come on, Sora, let's go. This jerk isn't worth my time anymore," Usagi said, glancing over her shoulder as she led Sora away.

* * *

"Well, here we are, Sora. Be careful what you do, you could get into trouble," Usagi said, smiling down at the younger girl. Sora looked up at Usagi and smiled.

"Oh, don't worry about me. If anyone tries to hurt me, I'll just... well, promise you won't get freaked out like everyone else I've shown my secret to?" Sora asked, looking at Usagi. Usagi looked at Sora curiously, but nodded. Sora smiled and narrowed her eyes a little, and Usagi gasped as her long hair began to fly about, forming a love heart, a crescent moon and then a pair of rabbit ears above her head. Sora relaxed, and Usagi's hair flopped down into her face. Usagi brushed her hair out of her eyes, staring at Sora in amazement.

"I... I've been able to control things with my mind since I was about two, according to my dad. And it's not just big things, I can control water and sand and things like that too," Sora said shyly, examining Usagi's expression for some sign that the older girl was about to run off. Usagi shook her head in amazement.

"Wow, Sora, that's amazing! Could you teach me how to do that?" Usagi asked excitedly.

"You... You're not freaked out?" Sora asked. Usagi shook her head.

"No way! That's an awesome power! My friend Rei-chan can read fire and destroy evil spirits with a piece of paper, but even she can't do something as incredible as that!" Usagi said. Sora stared at Usagi for a moment, before smiling with relief.

"Sora, there you are! I was beginning to get worried about you," a voice said, and the two girls looked up to see Mr Arian standing at the front door.

"Oh, hi, Daddy. Sorry to make you worry, Usagi and I were just getting to know each other," Sora said, smiling at her father. Mr Arian came out of the house and shook hands with Usagi.

"Well, I must say that I'm glad Sora has made a friend already," Mr Arian said. Sora smiled up at Usagi, her eyes sparkling with excitement because of just _who_ her new friend was.

"It's my pleasure, sir. Sora is an amazing girl, and I'm very pleased to meet her," Usagi said. Sora turned bright red at hearing her hero say these things.

"Well, it's lovely to meet you, Usagi," Mr Arian said.

"Bye, Usagi-chan! See you tomorrow!" Sora called excitedly, waving as Usagi ran across the road and up her footpath. She turned at the front door and waved back, before opening the door and going inside. She had some big news to tell Luna.

"Usagi, is that you?" Kenji Tsukino called from the loungeroom.

"Yes, Dad, it's me," Usagi said, peeking into the loungeroom where her father was seated in front of the television.

"I hope you weren't out with any boys," Kenji said sternly.

"No, Daddy, I was just getting to know the new girl across the road," Usagi said.

"Did you say there's a new girl across the road?" Ikuko Tsukino asked, poking her head out of the kitchen.

"Yes, Mum, a new girl called Sora and her father moved into the house across the road this morning," Usagi said. Ikuko nodded.

"Well, we must take them a casserole or something to welcome them," she said, before retreating into the kitchen to make something for their new neighbours. Usagi smiled and went up to her bedroom, where Luna was sitting on the windowsill watching Sora's house.

"Luna-" Usagi began, before Luna cut her off.

"I still can't pick why that girl is so familiar," Luna said.

"Luna, I-" Usagi tried again.

"Is she a Negaverse spy, or maybe a General?" Luna asked herself, still watching Sora's house.

"Luna, she's-"

"USAGI, WOULD YOU PLEASE STOP DISTURBING ME?!? I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHY THIS GIRL IS SO FAMILIAR, AND I CAN'T DO THAT IF YOU KEEP INTERRUPTING MY THOUGHTS!!!!" Luna yelled, turning away from the window to glare at Usagi. The two stared at each other for a moment, then Luna turned away angrily and stared out the window again. Usagi shrugged and turned to leave.

"OK, if you don't want me to tell you why Sora seems so familiar to you, that's fine by me," Usagi said, before leaving the room and closing the door. Luna looked thunderstruck, her anger instantly vanishing. She jumped off the windowsill and opened the door to find Usagi sitting on the top step, reading a comic book.

"Why is she familiar, Usagi?" Luna asked. Usagi ignored her and continued to read her comic. Luna sighed.

"Look, Usagi-chan, I'm sorry for yelling at you. Please, why do you think that she looks familiar?" Luna asked quietly. Usagi looked up from her comic book, then got up and walked back into her bedroom, Luna following at her heels. Usagi shut the door and sat down on her bed.

"Why does she look familiar, Luna? Well, maybe it's because she's Sailor Orion," Usagi said. Luna gaped at Usagi.

"Are you telling me that this girl is a Senshi?" Luna whispered, racking her brains for any memories of the girl. Usagi nodded.

"Yeah, she threw herself in front of a youma attack that was coming for me and she fainted, and then..." Usagi said, continuing to tell everything that had happened up until she had walked into her bedroom. Luna frowned as Usagi described the events at the mall.

"Sailor Orion... I don't really remember her... Although I can vaguely recall Aphrodite mentioning her at some stage. I think... she was a friend of Amaterasu, the Sun Princess," Luna said slowly.

"Well, at least we know the location of that last Senshi from Mel-chan's dream," Usagi said, smiling. Luna nodded slowly.

"We should probably give Mel-chan and Sora-chan communicators, shouldn't we?" Usagi asked. Luna looked at her for a moment, before nodding. She did two backflips, then looked at the two communicators that had fallen onto the bed.

"They've got more buttons that ours do, Luna," Usagi said, picking up one of the communicators and examining the gold and silver buttons on it, before slipping it into her pocket. Luna nodded, then did five more backflips.

"We'd better get these new communicators out to everyone," she said. Usagi scooped up the six communicators that were lying on the bed and dumped them into her bag, before getting up and walking out the door.

"Usagi, I think I'll take one of those communicators over to Sora, while you go give everyone else their new ones. OK?" Luna asked when Usagi had shut the front door behind them. Usagi nodded and handed one of the communicators over, before running down the road. Luna walked across the road and found Sora in the front yard. Luna crept behind a hedge and watched as Sora made some garden gnomes walk around the yard.

* * *

"Hi guys!" Usagi called to her friends, who were all sitting on the temple steps, talking.

"Hey, Usagi-chan, what's up?" Melina asked. Usagi pulled out the communicators.

"Luna sent me. She asked me to give you each a new communicator, seeing as our old ones don't have buttons for Mel-chan and Sora-chan," Usagi replied, passing one of the communicators to Rei. Rei examined the gold button and smiled at Melina.

"Good idea. I was worried we'd have to worry about using ordinary phones to contact each other. Our phone bills would go through the roof!" Minako said.

"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure that those sorts of phone calls are traceable," Ami said, taking her new communicator. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her old one, which she passed to Usagi. Rei, Makoto and Minako each did the same. Usagi slipped the four old communicators into her bag, then passed the last new communicator to Melina. Melina took it shyly, smiling as she looked at the gold button.

"Thanks, Usagi-chan," Melina said. Usagi nodded.

"What about the new girl? Sora?" Makoto asked.

"Don't worry about that, Mako-chan. Luna's going to give one to her," Usagi said.

"Do you know where she lives, Usagi-chan? I want to visit her," Melina asked.

"Me too," Sunshine said. Usagi smiled.

"Yeah, she lives right across the road from me. You know where I live, don't you?" Usagi asked.

"I think so. See you later, guys," Melina said. Rei watched as Melina and Sunshine ran down the path, then turned to the others.

"I've been seeing some pretty strange things in the fire lately, guys. I'm worried. I think... I'm not sure, but I think our Princess may be in danger," Rei said.

"Are you sure, Rei-chan?" Usagi asked. Rei nodded.

"That certainly isn't welcome news," Ami commented.

"Any ideas as to when or where our Princess might appear?" Makoto asked.

"Not really. All I can actually decipher is a really dark room, a black shard of crystal flying through the air, and... well, someone who looks a lot like a princess kneeling beside... Beside Tuxedo Mask," Rei said.

"Tuxedo Mask?!? Did... did something happen to him?" Usagi asked, her eyes growing wider every second.

"I'm not sure. I couldn't tell," Rei replied.

"Well, I think Luna would tell us to keep our eyes and ears open for anything suspicious. And we probably need to keep an eye on Tuxedo Mask too, as he seems to be rather more important than we thought," Ami said. The girls nodded.

"Rei-chan..." Usagi began, staring off into the distance with a worried expression on her face.

"Usagi-chan, I want you to be careful. I know you like Tuxedo Mask, but you could be in danger if you're near him. You could get hurt, so just... be careful, OK?" Rei said. Usagi sighed and nodded. _Tuxedo Mask,_ she thought, _where are you? Are you alright? _She sighed again and headed home.

* * *

_Hmmm, this girl is rather strange, _Luna thought as she watched the garden gnomes dancing across the lawn. _I can definitely sense her Senshi powers, though._ Luna glanced around and realised that she and Sora were alone. She smiled and hid the communicator under the bushes, then stepped out into the open.

"Hello, Sora," Luna said. Sora span around at the sound of Luna's voice.

"Who said that?" Sora asked, looking around.

"I did, Sora. It's very nice to meet you. I'm Luna. I must say, you're very brave, jumping in front of the youma's attack like you did. I was surprised to hear that you're a Senshi," Luna said, smiling. Sora stared at Luna for a second, then yelped in surprise as one of her gnomes danced over and collided with her. She sent the gnomes back to their positions around the garden and then turned to Luna, who smiled at her.

"That's a very interesting power you have, Sora," Luna said. Sora nodded slowly.

"It scares a lot of people away, though," she said.

"Well, it's rather a strange power, but it's not really scary. I only came over to say hello today, and to give you a present," Luna said, before going back to the bushes and retrieving the communicator. She dropped it into Sora's lap, and Sora picked it up and examined it eagerly.

"That's your very own communicator, Sora. You can use it to contact the others," Luna said.

"Oh, gee, wow! Thanks!" Sora exclaimed. She smiled at the silver button, then decided to test out one of the other buttons. She pressed the gold button and watched as the screen lit up with static, then cleared to show an image of Melina.

"Sora? What's up?" Melina asked.

"Nothing much, I was just testing my communicator," Sora replied.

"Oh. Well, since we're here, w-would you like to... you know... hang out?" Melina asked timidly.

"Sure! Let's meet at the Temple, OK?" Sora asked.

"OK. Sunshine and I just left there, but we're not that far away. We were actually coming to visit you. W-we'll head back to the Temple and wait for you," Melina said, before the screen went blank. Sora smiled at Luna, then pulled on her rollerskates.

"Dad, I'm just going for a walk to meet one of my new friends, OK?" Sora called.

"OK, honey. But don't be too long, it'll get dark in a few hours," Mr Arian called back.

"I won't," Sora replied, before skating off down the street.

* * *

"Hi, Melina, thanks for waiting!" Sora called, skating to a stop at the bottom of the Temple steps. Melina and Sunshine hurried down the steps and sat down to talk.

"It's nice to see you again, Sora," Sunshine said. Sora's eyebrows went up, but she appeared otherwise unsurprised that Sunshine could talk.

"You're like Luna," she said, smiling. Sunshine nodded.

"Sora, wh-when we first... Did... Did you get any... v-visions?" Melina asked. Sora smiled a little and sat down next to Melina.

"Yeah, I did. I saw two people who looked a lot like us, and a cat that looked a lot like Sunshine. Why?" Sora asked.

"Both Melina and I saw that too. But they weren't visions, Melina. They were memories," Sunshine said curtly. Melina and Sora gasped and looked at each other, then back at Sunshine.

"W-what do you mean, Sunshine? H-how can they be memories?" Melina asked, wide-eyed.

"Melina, Sora, you two are the reincarnations of two of the Princesses of the Silver Millennium. Melina, when I first awoke I had my suspicions, but when your Senshi powers awoke, I knew I was right. In the Silver Millennium, you were Princess Amaretasu of the Sun Kingdom. Sora, you were Princess Aurora of the Constellation Orion. You two were also cousins and best friends," Sunshine said. Melina and Sora stared at her, thunderstruck.

"We're Princesses?" Melina gasped. Sunshine nodded.

"Are the others Princesses too?" Melina asked.

"I know that Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Venus are, but Luna, Artemis and I aren't sure about Sailor Moon. See, there wasn't actually a Sailor Moon back in the Silver Millennium. We _are_ looking for the Moon Princess, though. That's our mission as Senshi and Guardians," Sunshine said.

_It wouldn't surprise me if Sailor Moon was the Moon Princess,_ Melina thought. _That would kinda make sense, since I'm the Sun Princess and Sailor Sun._

"Well, sheesh, I always knew I was different, but a Princess? That's just..." Sora trailed off, looking for the right words.

"Out-of-this-world?" Melina said, before bursting into giggles. Sora and Sunshine smiled.

"Yeah, I guess it is. Man, it's so weird that I'm a Senshi," Sora said.

"So, I was right about you, girl. You are one of those bratty Senshi who keep getting in my way," a voice said. The three looked up to see Zoisite floating in the air.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Melina asked, getting to her feet and stepping in front of Sora.

"You stay out of this, girl, this does not concern you," Zoisite sneered.

"If it's got something to do with my friend, then it does concern me," Melina spat back. Sunshine glanced at Melina warily, as her breathing was becoming shallow again.

"Ooh, you're a bold one, girl. Well, suit yourself. If I can't take your friend by herself, then I'll just have to take you with her," Zoisite said, before waving her hand. A flurry of black rose petals filled the air, and Zoisite disappeared, taking the two girls with her.

"Melina!" Sunshine yelled, horrified. She thought quickly about what to do, then turned and ran up the Temple steps.

"Rei! Rei!" she called, running towards the Temple. As she approached, the sliding door was flung open and the Fire Senshi rushed out.

"Sunshine! I'm too late, aren't I," Mars said. Sunshine nodded sadly. Mars whipped out her communicator and pressed the gold and silver buttons, but got only static.

"Darn! Where are they?" she said, before punching the buttons for the other four Senshi.

"Guys, we've got a major problem! Zoisite just kidnapped Melina and Sora!" Mars said.

"What?!? How? And why?" Usagi asked. Sunshine jumped up onto Mars' shoulder.

"Just now, Melina and Sora were talking, and that woman appeared and talked to the girls, then she and the girls all disappeared in a cloud of black rose petals. As for why, well, it's probably because she knows that Sora's a Senshi!" Sunshine said. The other Senshi looked shocked.

"Where'd they go, Sunshine?" Minako asked.

"I don't know. If I did, I'd be on my way there now," Sunshine said.

"We'd better go and look for them," Luna said from her position on Usagi's shoulder. The other girls nodded, then Mars' communicator screen went blank.

"C'mon, Sunshine, let's go find her," Mars said, putting her communicator back into her pocket. Sunshine nodded, then the two of them ran down the Temple steps and up the street.

* * *

Mamoru threw his mud-caked jeans into the washing basket and stepped onto his balcony, taking a deep breath of the oncoming night air. He slipped his hands into his jacket pockets, his fingers brushing against the two crystals.

"Hello again, Tuxedo Mask," a voice said. Mamoru looked up to see Zoisite floating in the air beyond his balcony.

"What do you want, Zoisite?" Mamoru asked.

"I came to strike a deal with you. You fight me, and the winner gets to keep all the Rainbow Crystals. What do you say?" Zoisite said slyly. She smiled when a flicker of interest appeared in Mamoru's eyes. "Oh, and I'll even throw in these two lovely girls as well," she continued, clicking her fingers. There was a flurry of black rose petals on either side of her, and then two cages of black crystal appeared and floated in the air. Inside the cages were the crumpled forms of Melina and Sora, eyes closed. Both girls had a large, bleeding lump on their heads, and Melina's breathing was still very shallow. Zoisite snickered at the look of horror on Mamoru's face.

"Why are you bringing normal humans into this?" Mamoru asked.

"Oh, but they're not normal humans, you see. Well, at least, one of them's not. That girl with the silver-blonde hair is one of the Senshi," Zoisite said.

"And what about the other one? Are you saying you brought her into this for no reason?"

"Oh no. She attempted to stop me from taking her friend here, so I brought her along too. Now what do you say? Will you fight me for these girls and my crystals?" Zoisite asked. Mamoru frowned, then nodded. Zoisite grinned. "Excellent! I shall be waiting for you at the Star Light Tower, then. See you soon," she said, before she and her two prisoners disappeared in another flurry of black rose petals. Mamoru frowned, then walked back inside, grabbed his green jacket and hurried out into the darkening night.

* * *

"Melina! Sora! Where are you, guys?" Usagi called, looking around.

"They don't seem to be here," Luna said, jumping down from Usagi's shoulder. Usagi frowned and nodded, then whirled around as she heard someone approaching, panting hard. To her surprise, she found Mamoru running towards her.

"Mamoru? What's wrong?" Usagi asked as Mamoru ran past her.

"Never mind, Odango. I've just got something I have to do. See you later!" Mamoru called, waving.

"Something's definitely up with Mamoru. I'm gonna follow him," Usagi said.

"Shouldn't you be looking for Melina and Sora?" Luna asked.

"Maybe he knows something about them. It won't take long, Luna. You keep looking around here. I'll be right back," Usagi said, before setting off after the black-haired man. Luna sighed, then continued to search for Melina and Sora.

* * *

"Mamoru, wait up! You're bleeding!" Usagi called, noticing the red-black patch spreading across the shoulder of Mamoru's green jacket. Mamoru stopped running and pulled off his green jacket, examining the patch of blood for a moment. Usagi stopped at his side and gently touched the shoulder, causing Mamoru to flinch away in pain.

"Mamoru, what happened?" Usagi asked.

"Never mind, Odango. Just go home," Mamoru said, pulling his jacket back on and continuing his journey, this time at a walking pace. Usagi ignored his order and followed him up the path to the Star Light Tower.

"This place gives me the creeps," Usagi said, looking up at the tower.

"Usagi, what are you doing? I said, 'Go home'," Mamoru said, turning to look at the blonde. As he did so, they were surrounded by sparkling red energy. The energy formed a red sphere around them, which carried them into the tower.

* * *

Sora opened her eyes and sat up slowly, looking around at the crystal cage that she was in. She looked to her right and found another cage beside hers, this one containing Melina.

"Melina! Melina, come on, wake up!" Sora yelled, rushing over to the side of her cage, ignoring the throbbing in her head. "Come on, Melina! You've gotta wake up!" Sora called, pulling at the crystal bars on her cage.

"It's no use trying to escape, little Senshi. You're not going to get out of that cage any time soon," a voice said, and Sora looked out of the cage to see Zoisite float down from the ceiling. "Besides," Zoisite added, "you and your little friend are two of my bargaining chips."

"What do you mean?" Sora asked, glaring at the General.

"Oh, I've got a little tiff with Tuxedo Mask, you see, and he's got something I want. So I'm leading him here to fight him," Zoisite said, before turning her back on Sora. Sora glared at Zoisite, then turned back to Melina and continued to try and rouse her.

"Ah, here's my guest at last. Oh, look, he's brought a little friend with him," Zoisite said. Sora watched as a glowing red sphere floated up through the floor and dissolved to reveal Mamoru standing in front of an unconscious Usagi.

"Usagi-chan! Oh, no, Usagi-chan! Wake up!" Sora screamed. Usagi groaned and stirred, but did not wake.

"Be quiet, girl. I'm glad to see you decided to show up, Mamoru. Here you are: my five rainbow crystals. You put your two with mine, and then we'll duel for all seven," Zoisite said, placing her five rainbow crystals in a pile in the middle of the room. Mamoru hesitated for a moment before placing his two rainbow crystals with Zoisite's. When Zoisite began to laugh, Sora knew that the female General had tricked Mamoru, and quickly focused on the crystals, which rose into the air and dodged around the flickering figure of Kunzite, who was materialising at that moment. Sora put her hand through the bars and caught the seven crystals, then slipped them into her pockets.

"Since you're competing for me too, I think I'll hold onto these until the winner is decided," Sora said, glaring through the bars at Zoisite. The female General shrugged.

"If you must," Zoisite said, turning back to face Mamoru, who had at that moment thrown a rose at her. The sharp flower flew through the air and sliced Zoisite's cheek. Zoisite shrieked, then glared at Mamoru.

"Ooh, you're going to pay for that! I think we'll have our duel up on the roof now. Meet me there in two minutes, or I'll just have to assume you're not interested in getting the crystals and these girls back. See you there," Zoisite said, as she, Kunzite and the two crystal cages disappeared in a whirl of black rose petals. Usagi groaned and sat up, staring around the room.

"Mamoru? What happened? Where are we?" she asked as Mamoru helped her to her feet.

"Oh, and Mamoru, I hope that you and your little friend there can run fast," Zoisite's teasing voice echoed around them. The pair gasped as the room began to get freezing cold, huge icicles forming on the ceiling as they watched. The icicles shook, then began falling towards the two.

"Never mind what happened, run!" Mamoru shouted, seizing Usagi's wrist and running towards an elevator on the far side of the room.

"Mamoru, you're not supposed to use the elevator in an emergency!" Usagi protested.

"Just shut up and get in!" Mamoru said, pushing her in and diving after her. The doors slammed shut behind them, then vanished, trapping then inside the gleaming metal box.

"What the... What's going on?" Usagi shrieked as the elevator began to move upwards. She threw herself at the wall where the doors used to be and began pounding on it.

"I don't know what Zoisite is trying to pull, but I guess there's not much to do except wait and see," Mamoru said. Usagi turned away from the wall and looked at Mamoru.

"Mamoru... Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Why are you after the Crystals that Zoi- that that woman had?" Mamoru looked at Usagi for a moment, before replying,

"I want to know who I am."

"Huh?" Usagi looked confused.

"See, when I was little, my parents were killed in a car crash. I was in the crash too, and the crash gave me amnesia. Completely wiped my memory away. I don't even know if my real name is Mamoru. None of that really bothered me that much until recently, though. I've started having this same dream all the time, about a princess who wants me to find the Imperium Silver Crystal. I think - well, at least, I hope - that she can tell me who I am."

"Gee, that's so sad. Thanks for telling me, though, Mamoru. I think you're really brave, hanging on the way you have."

"Not really. It's just the way it has to be, otherwise things would get too out of control," Mamoru shrugged, before the two fell back into silence.

* * *

Outside, Mars and Sunshine ran past the Star Light Tower and felt a huge amount of negative energy coming from it.

"That's gotta be them!" Mars said, running over to the door. She pulled hard, but the door didn't budge. Mars stepped back and pulled out her communicator. She pressed the pink button, but found only static. Frowning, she pressed the green, blue and orange buttons. "Guys, we think we've found 'em! There's a load of negative energy coming from the Star Light Tower, but there's no way in! Get here as quick as you can, OK?"

"We're on our way!" the girls said. Mars nodded and put her communicator away, then set about examining the seal on the door.

* * *

"Luna! What are you doing here? Where's Usagi-chan?" Minako asked, running into Luna as she and Artemis headed for the Star Light Tower.

"Usagi-chan decided to follow a boy named Mamoru. She said something seemed wrong, and she thought that he may know something about Melina and Sora. She also said she'd be right back, but I haven't seen her since," Luna said. Minako frowned and pulled out her communicator, but, like Rei, got only static when she pressed the pink button.

"Something's fishy about this. But since we have no idea where Usagi could be, I think we should follow our lead for now and investigate the Star Light Tower," Minako said, slipping her communicator back into her pocket.

"I think you're right. Let's go," Luna said. Minako nodded and pulled out her transformation pen.

"Venus Power!" Seconds later, Sailor Venus stepped out of her orange bubble, posed, then ran down the street with Luna and Artemis right behind.

* * *

"Where are they?" Mars wondered, pacing back and forth in front of the doors. Sunshine was sitting not far away, staring up at the Tower and worrying about Melina. _Her breathing was getting really shallow,_ Sunshine thought. _Oh, I hope that spirit doesn't take control of her again! _Just then the other five appeared.

"You're here! Thank goodness. I don't see any way in there, you guys," Mars said.

"I'll do a scan," Mercury said, pressing her earring and causing her blue goggles to appear over her eyes. She looked up at the tower, her goggles showing her the elevator with Mamoru and Usagi inside.

"Usagi-chan's in there! She's trapped in an elevator with Mamoru!" Mercury gasped.

"Guess that explains why I couldn't get her on the communicator," Mars said.

"You couldn't?" Jupiter asked. Mars shook her head.

"All I got was static."

"I tried to contact her too, but I got the same thing," Venus said.

"We need to get them out of there," Mars said.

"I don't think we can. Everything is sealed," Mercury said, using her goggles to scan each of the doors.

"I'll handle this. Supreme Thunder!" Jupiter yelled, sending a huge bolt of lightning flying through the air. When the smoke cleared, the girls could see that Jupiter had blown the door off it's hinges. "Well that was easy. Let's get in there!" The others nodded, and then the four senshi and the three cats ran inside.

* * *

"Time for phase two," Kunzite said, staring out at the city. "Soon, the Negaverse will rule everything." His eyes glowed blue, and the city's electricity went out. Black energy began to fly out of the city and into the Tower, which became surrounded by a cyclone.

***

"What's going on?!?" Venus gasped as the building began to warp around them.

"This is getting ugly," Artemis mused.

***

Outside, the cyclone disappeared to reveal that the Tower had warped, and was now clearly identifiable (to a Senshi) as a Negaverse base.

* * *

"Oh, what's happening? We're stopping... Now what do we do?" Usagi asked as the lift ground to a halt.

***

"Hmm... So you're still here, Mamoru. Well, I guess I can fix that," Zoisite said, turning away from the two cages and walking towards the elevator shaft.

"Get back here, you witch! Leave my friends alone!" Sora yelled.

"Let's see if you can handle the heat," Zoisite said, ignoring Sora and creating a fireball, which she sent spiralling down towards the elevator shaft.

"Usagi-chan! No!" Sora wailed.

***

"Oh, no! Fire!" Usagi said, pointing up at the fireball. _Oh, no, what'll I do?_ Usagi thought. _I know I can take care of this as Sailor Moon, but Mamoru will find out! Well, I guess I don't have much of a choice..._

"I'll protect you, Usagi," Mamoru said.

"Don't you worry about me, Mamoru. I can take care of myself just fine. Moon Prism Power!" Usagi shouted, before being enveloped in her sphere of pink light. Sailor Moon stepped out of the sphere and glared up at the approaching fireball, ignoring the shock on Mamoru's face.

***

Zoisite stepped back and watched as fire rushed back up the shaft in an explosion of heat and smoke. She scoffed and turned away.

"What a pity. And here I was hoping for some sort of resistance," she said.

"You want resistance, Nega-trash? You got it!" a voice called. Zoisite turned to see two shadowy figures hidden behind the smoke. The smoke cleared, revealing Sailor Moon standing in front of Mamoru. "I am Sailor Moon! Defender of the innocent! And that's definitely NOT you!" Sailor Moon said.

"Sailor Moon! You came!" Sora called, delighted.

"Sora! Melina! So there you are! We've been looking all over for you!" Sailor Moon said. Zoisite chuckled.

"Sailor Moon, what a surprise, not. You're always showing up just when I don't want you. Well, guess what, Moon girl, I'm not after you today. I'm after your friend, Tuxedo Mask," Zoisite said.

"Tuxedo Mask? Why bring him into it? He's not even here!" Sailor Moon said.

"Don't tell me you're really that naïve, Moon girl. Mamoru here is Tuxedo Mask!" Zoisite said. Sailor Moon scoffed.

"What are you, thick or something? Mamoru's not Tuxedo Mask, they're completely different!"

"You sure about that, Sailor Moon? I am Tuxedo Mask!" Mamoru said, stepping to her side and pulling out a red rose. The rose glowed, and a tuxedo, a mask, gloves and a top hat materialised in place of Mamoru's trousers and tacky green, blood-stained jacket. _Whoa... Mamoru _is _Tuxedo Mask! _Sailor Moon thought. _Man, this is just weird!_

"Get your friends and get out of here, Sailor Moon! This doesn't concern you," Tuxedo Mask said, looking at her.

"What, are you kidding me? Of course it concerns me!"

"Sailor Moon, I need to fight her alone."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

"So, are you still interested in fighting for the Rainbow Crystals?" Zoisite asked.

"Duh, of course he is! Weren't you listening?" Sailor Moon asked.

"But you've got to guarantee that you'll fight fairly and that Sailor Moon won't be injured, alright?" Tuxedo Mask said, stepping towards the female General.

"Of course, Mamoru," Zoisite said, flicking her finger lightly by her side. Sora noticed a gleam behind Sailor Moon, and saw a crystal shard emerge from the floor, aimed for Tuxedo Mask.

"Look out behind you!" Sora yelled. At that moment, Melina's eyes snapped open, revealing that they were once again pitch black. She jumped to her feet and let loose a massive kick, shattering the bars easily and freeing herself. She conjured up her flute and pointed it at the crystal shard, firing a black sun shape at it and destroying it. She then turned at pointed the flute at Zoisite, who was watching her fearfully. Melina fired another black sun shape, and Zoisite disappeared to avoid it, reappearing on the other side of the room. The female General waved her hands and drew two more crystal shards from the floor, one aimed at Tuxedo Mask and the other aimed at Melina. The two crystals flew at their targets simultaneously, and Melina, still held by the evil spirit inside her, turned with lightning reflexes and destroyed the one aimed for her. Unfortunately, she was not fast enough to get the other crystal, which found it's mark in Tuxedo Mask's back. Tuxedo Mask yelled in pain and then crumpled into Sailor Moon's arms. Sailor Moon began to sob uncontrollably as she laid Tuxedo Mask on the floor.

"Sailor Moon... It's up to you to beat Zoisite..." Tuxedo Mask whispered.

"I will, don't worry," Sailor Moon whispered back.

"I've always been on your side, Usagi... I want you to know that..." Tuxedo Mask whispered, his eyes sinking.

"MAMORU!!! NOOOOO!!!!!" Sailor Moon wailed. Just then, the other Senshi rushed into the room and gasped at the situation. Sunshine immediately rushed over to Melina and began attempting to rouse her.

"Melina! Melina, can you hear me? Snap out of it!" Sunshine said, pushing against the girl's leg without response. The others were frozen in place, their attention focused on Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask.

"Mamoru, come back! Please..." Sailor Moon said, cradling Tuxedo Mask's body, her tears falling lightly onto Tuxedo Mask's face. One of her falling tears became suspended in midair and began to glow.

"What's going on?" Sora gasped. She felt something moving in her pockets, and looked down in time to see the Rainbow Crystals fly out of her pockets and over to Sailor Moon. Everyone watched as the seven Crystals merged with Sailor Moon's tear, forming the Imperium Silver Crystal. The crystal glowed, and Sailor Moon's Crescent Moon Wand appeared. The crystal floated over and joined onto the Wand, then began to glow with an intense white light. The light washed over Melina, rapidly changing her eyes from black to blue and her clothes to a long white, gold-flecked dress. The light also changed Sailor Moon's fuku into a long white princess dress, and destroyed the cage that Sora was trapped in.

"Princess Serenity! Princess Amaterasu! We've found them both!" Luna gasped.

"Yeah, and who'd have thought that Usagi would be the Moon Princess!" Mars said.

"I did," Amaterasu said, smiling. Serenity stood and took the Crescent Moon wand gently from the air.

"I'm... The Moon Princess?" Serenity asked, dazed.

"At last, we've found you, Princess Serenity," Luna said, smiling.


	11. The Past Explained

Sparrowflyaway: I am so glad my writer's block ended. I'm just itching to write the rest of the story! Here's chapter 11! I hope you like it! And sorry that it's taken such a long time!

Usagi: you bet it's taken a long time! I wanna know what happens next! I mean, Mel-chan and Sora-chan get beaten unconscious and dragged into this creepy cave, and then the rest of us get stuck in here too! _And_ you've made me the Princess! What else is there that you can do to us?

Sparrowflyaway: A lot more than you realise, Usagi-chan. And furthermore, who said you could butt in?

Usagi: Me! I'm the _Princess_, remember? You made it that way!

Sparrowflyaway: I didn't make you the Princess, you were BORN the Princess. And besides, I would have thought you'd like being royalty.

Usagi: No, I just wanna be a normal teenager!

Sparrowflyaway: Nothing I can do about that, Odango Atama.

Usagi: Hey! Don't call me that!

Sparrowflyaway: Hehe, why not? Mamoru does, and you love him!

Usagi: I... I don't love him. He's a jerk and a baka and...

Sparrowflyaway: Anyway, I don't own Sailor Moon or her Imperium Silver Crystal. That'd be WAY too much responsibility for me.

Usagi: So you go and heap all of that responsibility onto me? Sheesh!

Sparrowflyaway: …Let's just get on with the chapter, shall we?

* * *

_Last time:_

"_Mamoru, come back! Please..." Sailor Moon said, cradling Tuxedo Mask's body, her tears falling lightly onto Tuxedo Mask's face. One of her falling tears became suspended in midair and began to glow._

"_What's going on?" Sora gasped. She felt something moving in her pockets, and looked down in time to see the Rainbow Crystals fly out of her pockets and over to Sailor Moon. Everyone watched as the seven Crystals merged with Sailor Moon's tear, forming the Imperium Silver Crystal. The crystal glowed, and Sailor Moon's Crescent Moon Wand appeared. The crystal floated over and joined onto the Wand, then began to glow with an intense white light. The light washed over Melina, rapidly changing her eyes from black to blue and her clothes to a long white, gold-flecked dress. The light also changed Sailor Moon's fuku into a long white princess dress, and destroyed the cage that Sora was trapped in._

"_Princess Serenity! Princess Amaterasu! We've found them both!" Luna gasped._

"_Yeah, and who'd have thought that Usagi would be the Moon Princess!" Mars said._

"_I did," Amaterasu said, smiling. Serenity stood and took the Crescent Moon wand gently from the air._

"_I'm... The Moon Princess?" Serenity asked, dazed._

"_At last, we've found you, Princess Serenity," Luna said, smiling._

* * *

"I simply can't believe it. Princess... You were right in front of me the whole time, and I never realised," Luna murmured, watching as Serenity clutched the Crescent Moon Wand and knelt down beside Tuxedo Mask.

"Mamoru..." Serenity whispered, placing the Crescent Moon Wand beside her, tears filling her eyes.

"Enough of this pointless display of dramatics. Give me that Crystal!" Zoisite said, aiming a blast of dark energy at the Moon Princess. A split second later, the Crescent Moon Wand was back in Serenity's hand and she was using it to shield herself and Tuxedo Mask from the dark energy. As the wave of dark energy faded, Serenity held the Crescent Moon Wand high and opened her eyes to glare at Zoisite, hissing, "Cosmic Moon Power!" The Crystal glowed pink, and then Zoistite found herself flying backwards across the room. She hit a tall, mutated pillar and screamed in pain, then slumped to the floor, struggling to make her eyesight focus. Serenity clasped the Wand to her chest and resumed her absent stroking of Tuxedo Mask's hair.

"Mamoru, please wake up, I need you," Serenity whispered, holding the Crescent Moon Wand out over Tuxedo Mask's body. The Imperium Silver Crystal began to pulse with pink light, which washed over Tuxedo Mask. Serenity's tears splashed onto the Crystal, making it glow brighter and reviving Tuxedo Mask, who slowly opened his eyes. Princess Serenity gasped, then smiled with relief.

"Mamoru, you're alive! Thank goodness," Serenity breathed.

"Princess? Yes... I... I remember now. In the Silver Millennium... I was Prince Endymion," Mamoru whispered. Serenity nodded slowly as she too began to remember the Silver Millennium...

* * *

"_Serenity, I love you. I love you more than anyone has ever loved anything before," Endymion whispered._

"_I love you too, my Prince," Serenity smiled back._

* * *

"_My love, I am afraid I must leave you for a time. There is trouble brewing on Earth, and as Prince, I must resolve it," Endymion said sadly, taking Serenity into his arms and holding her tightly._

"_I understand, Endymion. Here, take this with you," Serenity said, pulling away and taking out a golden locket in the shape of a star: her Star Locket. She opened it and listened to the tune it tinkled for a moment, before placing it gently in Endymion's hand and smiling up at him. "So that you'll always remember me," she whispered._

"_Oh, Serenity. I could never forget you," Endymion smiled. The two drew close once more and kissed._

* * *

Serenity sighed as she immersed herself in the happiness of her memories, completely oblivious to the Silver Crystal's reaction to her thoughts. It seemed to be sensing that she wanted Endymion to be well again, and was glowing brighter every second. The light washed over Amaterasu, causing her to grunt and step backwards as she felt her Heart Crystal twitch inside her. Amaterasu closed her eyes and clutched her chest, willing her Heart Crystal to be still as a second wave of pink light washed over her. A third wave quickly followed, forcing her to her knees, a soft scream leaving her lips. Amaterasu twitched as more waves of healing energy washed over her, then three things happened simultaneously: her brooch floated up from the front of her dress and began to glow, her Heart Crystal burst from her chest, and her eyes rolled upwards as she lost consciousness. Her brooch and her Heart Crystal hovered, side by side, in midair, one as bright as Amaterasu's home star, the other as black as the infinity that surrounded their Solar System. The healing light continued to wash over Amaterasu's brooch and Heart Crystal, and the simultaneous screams of Amaterasu and the evil spirit rent the air as thin streams of dark smoke shot out of the Heart Crystal and evaporated. Her brooch, on the other hand, glowed brightly as each wave of light washed over it. When the healing light finally stopped, the Brooch stopped glowing and clattered to the floor, the centre of Amaterasu's Heart Crystal was significantly brighter(but still not completely pure), and Amaterasu was twitching painfully, her breathing harsh and ragged.

"Even the Silver Crystal couldn't remove it..." Sunshine murmured, watching as the Heart Crystal drifted back into Amaterasu's chest. _It seems as though more than one of the three Great Crystals will be needed to remove the spirit..._ Sunshine mused, before a horrid thought struck her, the thought that _all three combined may not be powerful enough._ Sunshine glanced at Serenity, who had set the Crescent Moon Wand down again and was stroking Tuxedo Mask's hair, hoping that the Crystal's power would work. As everyone watched, Serenity began to glow with a soft pink light. The light faded, and Serenity turned back into Sailor Moon, then fainted.

"Sailor Moon!" the scouts chorused, rushing to her side.

"Is she gonna be alright?" Jupiter asked.

"I think so. She just had a little fainting spell," Mercury replied.

"Very princess-like," Venus commented. Meanwhile, Sora and Sunshine were desperately trying to wake Amaterasu.

"Come on, Mel, wake up, you just gotta wake up!" Sora pleaded, shaking Amaterasu. Sunshine picked up Amaterasu's brooch and passed it to Sora, who pinned it back on the Sun Princess' dress. Amaterasu glowed with a gentle gold light, which changed her back into Melina. Sora gasped.

"I think she's going to be OK, Sora," Sunshine said.

"I wish we could say the same about Mamoru, but there's just no way of knowing how he'll do," Venus said, walking over to them. Sora and Sunshine looked over at the other group, where Mars was gently shaking Mamoru, attempting to wake him again.

"Come on, Mamoru, it's me, it's Rei, please wake up," Mars pleaded.

"We really need to get him to a doctor. He needs help, and fast!" Jupiter said.

"No-one is going anywhere," a small, weak voice hissed. The scouts looked over at Zoisite, who was struggling to her feet.

"I hope you enjoyed seeing your Princess again, because she... no, all of you... you're all history," Zoisite hissed weakly, fighting to stay on her feet. She stumbled, and fell into the arms of a just-appearing Kunzite.

"Zoisite, what's the matter? You're shaking!" Kunzite said.

"Kunzite, I need your help. I'm not strong enough to stop them. They'll get out, and they'll take the Silver Crystal too," Zoisite whispered.

"Don't worry, they won't be going anywhere. We'll get the Crystal back. But there's something else we need to get too," Kunzite said.

"If you want our Princess, you'll have to go through us first, pretty boy," Venus spat.

"Shut it, you bratty Senshi, I'm not interested in you or your precious Princess," Kunzite said, sending a wave of dark energy over the group. When it died down, the girls looked up and gasped as a black sphere of energy formed around Mamoru, then vanished, taking Mamoru with it. Kunzite glared at the Senshi, then he and Zoisite vanished.

"Mamoru! No! Oh, what are they going to do with him?" Mars asked.

"I'm not sure, but for now, we need to get out of here," Luna said.

"Yeah, I'm exhausted!" Venus said. Just then, they heard a groan, and turned to find Melina opening her eyes dazely.

"Are you alright, Melina?" Sunshine asked. Melina winced in pain as she sat up, but nodded.

"Come on, then. Let's get out of here," Mars said.

"How are we going to get out? This place is so confusing!" Venus complained.

"Same way we got in here," Mars said, before blasting a hole in the wall. Jupiter hauled Sailor Moon's unconscious form onto her back, then she and the rest of the Senshi leapt out of the hole and ran down the street. Melina stumbled and stopped running, panting heavily. She looked back at the Tower, feeling disoriented and very tired, and gasped as the ground beneath her feet began shaking. Seconds later, there was a bright flash, and the Star Light Tower exploded, knocking Melina off her feet. When the rumbling stopped, Melina clambered uncertainly to her feet and looked at the smoking ruins. _Wow, that was close,_ she thought._ But at least we got away..._

* * *

"Oh, wonderful work, Kunzite! Not only do you lose your two captive Senshi and the five Rainbow Crystals that we had, but now the Moon Princess has the Imperium Silver Crystal! So what are you going to do about it?" Beryl hissed in anger.

"My Queen, only one of those girls was a Senshi-"

"Wrong, Zoisite. Both girls were Senshi. I would have thought that you would have gathered that from the fact that no ordinary Terran could have reflexes like she did, or be able to kick the bars off of one of our cages. Wake up, you useless girl!" Beryl snapped.

"Yes, My Queen."

"Now, Kunzite, I'm waiting for an answer."

"Oh, we'll get the Crystal back, My Queen, don't worry. There's no way a crybaby like Sailor Moon can pull off being the Moon Princess. She'll never be able to control the Crystal's power."

"Very well, I'll give you another chance. As for you, Zoisite, I should like an explanation of your actions towards Tuxedo Mask."

"Please, My Queen, it was an accident-"

"Do you think I'm an idiot, girl?!? Did you really think I wouldn't find out about your attempts on his life?"

"I'm sorry for any inconvenience I may have caused you, My Queen."

"It's far too late for apologies, Zoisite. You have disobeyed me for the last time," Beryl hissed, waving her hand over a black crystal ball beside her throne. The crystal ball glowed purple and shot a beam of negative energy at Zoisite, throwing her backwards out of the throne room. "Now that that little problem has been dealt with, I suggest you go and get that Crystal back, Kunzite, before the same thing happens to you."

"Yes, My Queen," Kunzite said, struggling to hide his horror.

* * *

"Are you alright, Usagi?" Luna asked, watching Usagi trudge upstairs to her bedroom. Usagi nodded, then tripped on the top step. Luna rushed upstairs to her side.

"Usagi!"

"I'm fine, Luna, I trip over all the time, remember?" Usagi said quietly.

"Come on, let's get you to bed." Usagi didn't protest, instead getting to her feet and walking the rest of the way into her bedroom. She picked up her pyjamas from the end of the bed and pulled them on, then gasped. There, on her pillow, was the Star Locket from her memories. She picked it up, amazed, and opened it to once more hear the tune. As the locket played, Usagi clasped it to her chest and began to cry.

* * *

"There you are, sweetie! I was beginning to worry," Mrs Pattini said, walking out of the kitchen when she heard the front door close. "Did you have fun at Minako's sleepover?"

"Huh? Oh! Oh, yeah, it was fun. She's really nice, and so are all of her friends," Melina smiled. "But now I'm a little tired from all of the games we played, so I'm gonna go to bed now. Night, Mum."

"Goodnight, sweetie. Sweet dreams," Mrs Pattini smiled, before walking back into the kitchen. Melina climbed the stairs wearily and walked into her bedroom, where she changed into her pyjamas. She turned towards the bed, then froze, noticing her flute lying on the bed exactly where she had left it.

"How'd this get here? I remember summoning it today and yesterday..."

"Maybe it's got powers like you do, Melina."

"I guess you're right. I mean, if it _was_ just an ordinary flute, then I doubt I'd be using it to attack youma," Melina said, picking the flute up and placing it gently on her bedside table, before climbing into bed. Sunshine turned off Melina's light and jumped into her cat basket.

"Good night, Sunshine."

"Goodnight, Melina."

"Sunshine, do you think Usagi-chan is OK?" Melina asked after a while, staring at the ceiling of her dimly-lit bedroom. Sunshine opened her eyes blearily and looked across the room at Melina.

"I'm sure she's fine, Melina. She's probably asleep. Which you should try to do, too, considering you'll have school tomorrow," Sunshine said sleepily.

"OK. Goodnight, Sunshine," Melina sighed, rolling over onto her side. Sunshine watched Melina as she drifted off to sleep, then closed her eyes sleepily.

* * *

Sometime later, when the bedroom had gotten even darker, Sunshine awoke to find Melina sweating profusely and groaning. _Looks like she's getting into that nightmare again,_ Sunshine thought.

***

"Hang in there, Melina, it's OK, just hang on!"

"Melina..."

"Come on Melina, hang in there..."

"Melina, come on, we need you!"

"Stay with us, Melina, you do matter, you're our friend!"

"Melina! Oh no!" Melina's dream began in the usual way, with the voices drifting through the mist. Then, suddenly, the mist swirled and vanished, leaving Melina with a clear view of the dream. She was lying on a rock with her six teary-eyed friends kneeling beside her, and two golden bubbles floating away in the background. The dream seemed to skip a beat, and then the six girls were curled up asleep, and Sunshine was seated beside her.

***

Sunshine watched, feeling a little alarmed and confused as Melina, instead of thrashing about, lay still and began breathing heavily.

***

Another skip caused Melina's dream to become rather hazy, her friends disappeared, and the tall ginger-haired woman was kneeling where Sunshine had been, the six golden bubbles floating away behind her. The woman seemed to be talking, but it was as though Melina's ears had suddenly stopped working, and so she couldn't hear any of the woman's words. Melina began to glow gold once again, and then she awoke.

***

Sunshine watched, curious, as Melina sighed, then sat up abruptly, all the fear of her dreams still present despite the difference in behaviour.

"Are you alright, Melina?" Sunshine asked.

"Y-yeah, I guess s-so. It's weird, but... the dream was different this time, and I don't know why," Melina replied.

"What was different?" Sunshine asked, jumping up onto the bed.

"Well, the black mist was only there for a moment this time, then it disappeared and I could see the entire dream," Melina said.

"Well, that's something. What was it like behind all that mist?" Sunshine asked.

"It was really bleak and white, so I think there was either ice or snow there. There was also a lot of dark rock, which was what I was lying on. And then you were there, and then there was this tall ginger-haired woman too, who I have no idea who she is," Melina said.

"Really? That's odd," Sunshine said thoughtfully.

"I'm still scared that I'm gonna die, Sunshine, but at least now I know that my friends are gonna be safe," Melina said quietly.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Those six bubbles that I saw before, I'm pretty sure that my friends are inside them, and they're heading back here. There were also another two bubbles that I've never seem before. I'm not sure who was in them, but they're probably important too," Melina said.

"OK. Well, I think you'd better get back to sleep, Melina."

"Yeah, you're probably right, Sunshine. Night."

"Goodnight." The two curled up in their respective beds and tried to get back to sleep, finding it impossible with the tumultuous thoughts in their heads. _Melina saw me,_ Sunshine thought. S_he saw the real me: her mother, Queen Solaris. What'll I do? Should I tell her about what happened to me? Or should I leave it out? And what does that mean, her seeing the real me? Has she gotten her memories back? Or am I going to turn back into Solaris?_ On the other side of the room, Melina's thoughts were just as confused. _Those dreams just get weirder and weirder, _she thought. _What happens to us? Who is that woman? Who's in those two bubbles that appear while my friends are still there? I wish I knew what these dreams mean. Is it something to do with my past life? Or is it to do with this one? Sunshine seems to know about my past life, maybe she knows which life its from._

"Sunshine?" Melina said timidly.

"Yes?"

"Would you tell me about the Silver Millennium, please?"

"If it'll help you get back to sleep, sure," Sunshine said, climbing out of her cat basket and jumping onto the bed. Melina curled up facing Sunshine, her eyes wide and expectant. "A long time ago, in the Silver Millennium, there was a beautiful Princess. Her name was Amaterasu," Sunshine began. Melina giggled.

"That's me, right?"

"Yes, that's you. You and I lived on the Sun, where it was always warm and bright and happy."

"How could we live on the Sun, Sunshine? It's kinda really hot there," Melina said.

"Simple: the structures that were built there were made to withstand and keep out the enormously high temperatures there."

"What was it like? The palace, I mean."

"The Sun Palace was beautiful. Everything was gold, white and bronze, and all the servants were very courteous of you and your Father, King Alexander."

"What about my mother?"

"Your mother, she... She died when you were very young."

"How did she die? And what was she like?"

"She was a very fair and gentle ruler, and she always tried to do what was best for the kingdom and the Royal Family. As for when she disappeared, well, that's rather a sad story in itself. See, there was a tradition on the Sun to bless the heir's Pure Heart Crystal with the Bronze Crystal, which was one of the most powerful Crystals in the universe, and was passed down through the Solarian Royal Family."

"Wow, that Bronze Crystal sure sounds cool. Do you think it came through to this Millenium like the Silver Crystal did?"

"I know it did, Melina."

"How do you know that?"

"You'll see once I've finished telling you this story."

"OK."

"When Queen Solaris was blessing your Pure Heart Crystal, an evil spirit attacked it."

"What's a Pure Heart Crystal?"

"Everyone has one, Melina, it's kind of like a part of your soul. It's the part of your soul that determines if you're a good person or a bad one. Anyway, as I was saying, your Pure Heart Crystal was attacked, which is a very bad thing. That spirit was particularly stubborn, and Queen Solaris had to use the full power of the Bronze Crystal."

"Was that a bad thing?"

"Yes and no. See, the current ruler of the Solarian throne is connected inescapably to the Bronze Crystal. It's the same case for the Silver Crystal and the ruler of the Moon, and the Gold Crystal and the ruler of Earth. So when Queen Solaris used the full power of the Bronze Crystal on that spirit, it allowed you to be able to fight the spirit, but it also cost Queen Solaris her life."

"Wow, that's so sad. But what happened to the Bronze Crystal? Where is it now?"

"That's the interesting part. When Queen Solaris used the Bronze Crystal's full power, it shattered and reformed into a white brooch with a gold sun on it."

"Wait a sec... so you're saying that my brooch, the one David gave me, is..."

"It's the Bronze Crystal, yes."

"Wow, that's really weird how things work out."

"Not really. The three Great Crystals – The Gold Earth Crystal, The Silver Moon Crystal and The Bronze Sun Crystal – are almost alive themselves, being always connected to their owners. Their powers are so similar in nature that they are connected to each other, as well. So the Bronze Crystal probably sensed that you were alive once again, and so it made certain things occur so that it would once again be in your hands."

"What about the Silver Alliance? Who else was a part of that?"

"Well, you were not the only Princess of the Silver Alliance, as you know. The main Princess was Princess Serenity, who was the Moon Princess and the heir to the throne of the Moon Kingdom, which was the head of the Silver Alliance."

"That's Usagi, right?"

"Yes."

"What about the other planets? Was there a Princess for all of them, too?"

"Most of them, yes. The Princess of Orion, Aurora, was also your cousin and your best friend."

"That's Sora, right?"

"Yes. The other Senshi were also Princesses. Ami was Princess Athena of Mercury, Rei was Princess Ares of Mars, Makoto was Princess Hera of Jupiter, and Minako was Princess Aphrodite of Venus."

"Wow, the Ancient Greeks must've known a bit about some of us, since a lot of those names are the same as some of their gods."

"Really? That's interesting."

"Please, go on, Sunshine. This is really interesting. What about Earth?"

"There was a Prince of Earth named Endymion."

"That's that guy called Mamoru."

"Yes, that's him. Princess Serenity was in love with Endymion, and although neither of their parents were altogether happy about the match, they seemed to accept that the two were madly in love."

"Why didn't they like those two falling in love?"

"Princess Serenity was the heir to the throne of the Silver Alliance, and the Earth wasn't a part of that Alliance. Most Terrans didn't really trust those in the Silver Alliance, although I never found out why."

"OK... what about the other planets?"

"The Outer Senshi? They were very rarely seen, so I'm not sure what their Princess names were. Sailor Saturn I never actually saw, since she would only awaken her powers on the Last Day and so end the Universe so that it could be reborn. That was her job: to put an end to the Universe and then give it its rebirth so that it could start again, free of evil."

"Wow, she'd probably have a hard time doing that. I mean, there's so much beauty in the Universe, it'd be really hard to end it all unless you were really devoted to your mission."

"I suppose you're right there, Melina, but it probably never entered her mind _not_ to end it. Her one and only job was to finish all, and she was devoted to that."

"What about the others?"

"Sailor Uranus, Senshi of the Heavens, and Sailor Neptune, Senshi of the Ocean, were very good friends, but they mostly stayed in their palaces, watching and waiting for the day when they would be needed to awaken Saturn."

"They awaken Saturn? How?"

"Uranus had an item called the Space Sword, and Neptune had an item called the Deep Aqua Mirror. When those two items were near the Garnet Orb, then Saturn would awaken and end all."

"What's the Garnet Orb?"

"That's the item that Sailor Pluto had. Sailor Pluto was the Senshi of Time, and so she was very rarely seen unless it was absolutely necessary. She was able to see everything that would happen, and if she saw something that could endanger the Universe, then she would come and visit us to warn us about the approaching danger," Sunshine said.

"Wow, she sounds really important. Did you ever get to meet her, Sunshine?" Melina's question was greeted with silence, as Sunshine was busy watching yet another memory emerge...

* * *

"_Wow, Sunshine, this party is so amazing!" 12-year-old Amaterasu said, looking around excitedly at all the beautiful people in the Lunarian ballroom._

"_Mind you behave yourself, Princess. Try not to act silly like you did at your father's ball," Sunshine said. Amaterasu pouted._

"_You're no fun, Sunshine," Amaterasu said, before running off through the crowd of talking people. Sunshine sighed and looked around for her friends, Luna and Artemis, but instead spotted someone who she had not seen since Amaterasu's birth: Sailor Pluto. _I wonder what she meant when she said that Amaterasu would become the most powerful Senshi?_ Sunshine wondered. _Right now, she doesn't seem like she'll become a Senshi at all, let alone the most powerful one._ Making up her mind, Sunshine began weaving her way through the crowd to find Pluto. After much searching, she found herself on a balcony overlooking the ballroom. Looking down, Sunshine spotted Amaterasu sitting in a corner, hand in hand with a young blonde boy._

"_Greetings, Solaris. I hope I find you well?" a voice said behind her. Sunshine turned to find Sailor Pluto smiling at her._

"_Sailor Pluto! I'm well, thank you. And you?"_

"_Fine, thank you."_

"_Sailor Pluto, do you mind if I ask you a question?"_

"_Not at all."_

"_What did you mean when you said that Amaterasu would become the most powerful Senshi? I mean, it's not that I don't believe that she will become powerful eventually, but right now, it just seems so impossible that she'll be even a reasonably good Senshi."_

"_This has been troubling you for quite some time now, hasn't it," Pluto said, her smile fading._

"_Yes, I'm afraid it has."_

"_Amaterasu needs to learn to control her Senshi powers as soon as she possibly can, for if she doesn't get control of them in time, then that spirit inside of her will get control of _her_. And if that spirit gets control, then it will amplify her powers a hundredfold and it would, eventually, destroy us all. That is the fate that awaits us if she cannot awaken," Pluto said gravely. Sunshine nodded solemnly._

"_I understand."_

"_Good luck, Solaris. Now I think you'd better get down there and speak to her. She's been sitting with Prince Rasmus for quite some time now, and it looks to me like things are getting serious between them," Pluto said, looking over the balcony at the two children sitting in the corner._

"_Thank you, Sailor Pluto."_

"_You're quite welcome, Solaris. Farewell." Sunshine bowed, then walked down to the ballroom, where Amaterasu spotted her and pouted._

"_Is it time to go already, Sunshine?" she asked._

"_Not yet, Princess. Who's your friend?"_

"_Oh! Sunshine, this is Prince Rasmus. He's 'Ra's cousin on the other side of her family. Rasmus, this is my Guardian, Sunshine."_

"_It's a pleasure to meet you, Sunshine," Rasmus said, his blue eyes twinkling._

"_And you," Sunshine said, bowing. She jumped up onto Amaterasu's shoulder, whispered "Behave yourself," then jumped down again and left. She wandered around the castle and greeted many of the royal family, all the while thinking about what Pluto had said. "If that spirit gets control, then it will amplify her powers a hundredfold and it would, eventually, destroy us all." _I won't let that happen,_ Sunshine vowed. _I won't let that spirit take control of my baby girl. Whatever it takes, I will protect her._ Sunshine suddenly noticed that it was time to go home, and so wandered back through the castle to the ballroom, where she found Amaterasu and Rasmus still sitting in the corner._

"_Time to go home now, Princess," Sunshine said. Amaterasu pouted, but gave Rasmus a quick hug goodbye before following Sunshine to the waiting vehicle that would take them home. "Did you have fun today, Princess?"_

"_Oh, yes, Sunshine! I had a wonderful time. I think... I think I'm in love, Sunshine," Amaterasu said, staring out the window with a dreamy look on her face._

"_With Rasmus?" Amaterasu nodded. "Well, we're going home to bed now, so you'll be able to have lots of lovely dreams about him," Sunshine said, watching her daughter lovingly._

* * *

"Sunshine? Are you OK?" Melina asked, poking her gently. Sunshine snapped back to reality, then looked up at Melina.

"Yes, I'm fine. I just got back another memory, that's all."

"Really? What about?"

"You, Sailor Pluto and Prince Rasmus."

"Who's Prince Rasmus?"

"Another of Aurora's cousins. It seemed like the two of you were pretty serious," Sunshine said.

"What, we were in love?"

"Yes, you were. I think I've seen him in this life too, but I'm not sure..." Sunshine's eyes widened as the truth hit her. "He's David," Sunshine said, shocked.

"What?!? _David_ is Prince Rasmus?!?"

"Yes, he is. I thought he looked familiar when I first saw him."

"Wow, it's a really small world," Melina said, amazed.

"It certainly is, and it's getting smaller by the day," Sunshine mused. Just then, Melina gave huge yawn and her eyelids started to sink. "Looks like that's enough stories for now. Goodnight, Melina."

"Awww, OK. Night, Sunshine."


	12. The Last Straw

Sparrowflyaway: Chapter 12! Hooray! We're getting close!

Usagi: Is Mamoru gonna be OK?

Sparrowflyaway: Just wait and see, Usagi-chan.

Usagi: Oh, alright.

Sparrowflyaway: Who wants to do the disclaimer today?

Melina: Me! Can I do it?

Sparrowflyaway: Sure. Go ahead.

Melina: Yay! OK, Sparrowflyaway doesn't own Sailor Moon.

Sparrowflyaway: But I do own you, Mel-chan.

Melina: Do not!

Sparrowflyaway: I do, actually. But anyway, let's get on with the story, shall we?

Melina: You do not own me!

Sparrowflyaway: *sigh*

* * *

"Hi Hannah!" Melina said, jumping onto the bus. Hannah glanced at her, then turned away in silence. "Hannah? Is something wrong?"

"Oh no, nothing, nothing at all. My best friend didn't turn up at my birthday party, that's all," Hannah said frostily. Melina stared at her, remembering the invitation to the party.

"I'm sorry, Hannah, but it really wasn't my fault that I couldn't be there," Melina said.

"Oh yeah? Then whose fault was it?" Hannah asked.

"Well... It wasn't really anyone's fault," Melina said quietly. Hannah glared at Melina, then grabbed her bag and moved up to the back of the bus. Melina heaved a sigh as she sat down and looked out the window, not very surprised to find Sunshine running after the bus. _I'm sorry I couldn't be there, Hannah, but it's not my fault that I was unconscious at the time,_ Melina thought sadly. _If it's anyone's fault, it's the Negaverse's. There's no way that I can tell Hannah that, though..._ Melina sighed and wiped away a tear that was sliding down her cheek, wishing for the bus to hurry up and get them to school.

* * *

"Alright, settle down, class, I know you probably all had a very exciting weekend, but it's time to take out your books," Miss Kaiou called over the chatter in the classroom. "Now I think that I should warn you that we're going to be having a fire drill today, so don't e alarmed if the fire alarm goes off. Just follow my instructions and we'll get it done as quickly as possible." _That'll be a break from the usual boring classes,_ Melina thought. She sighed and slumped into her seat, glancing across at Hannah, who determinedly ignored her. Outside the window, Sunshine noticed the redhead's frigid behaviour, and sensed that it was directed at Melina. She sighed thoughtfully as her eyes drifted to Melina's blonde boyfriend. _Prince Rasmus... I wonder if he remembers the Silver Millennium,_ Sunshine thought. Just then, a tingle of negative energy ran down her spine, and she glanced around to see a large blue pig sitting on top of a table. _I need a way to alert the Senshi without endangering the rest of the school,_ Sunshine thought frantically. A smile crept across her face as she spotted a large red button on the wall. _Perfect,_ Sunshine thought. _The fire alarm._ A flash of gold from her sun shape shattered the glass covering the button, then Sunshine backed up and took a running leap, pressing the button as hard as she could. Instantly, a loud, high-pitched wailing filled the air, and Sunshine ran back to the window of Melina's classroom, where the teacher was hurrying the students out of the classroom.

"Someone close those windows, please!" Miss Kaiou said. Melina and Hannah both hurried out of the line and began shutting the windows. Melina happened to glance out of a window and spot Sunshine looking pointedly up at her. She nodded slightly as she shut the last window, then hurried to join the line again, noticing that Hannah deliberately pushed through the line to avoid her. When the class got outside, they joined the other students walking out to the basketball court. Melina glanced around and spotted Sunshine peeking out of some bushes, so she slowed down until she was at the back of the line, then quickly ran around a corner of the school building and out of sight, not noticing that Hannah and David had both noticed her escape and were looking for an opportunity to follow...

* * *

"What's up, Sunshine?" Melina whispered. Sunshine shook her head and led Melina behind a large bush before speaking.

"There's a youma," Sunshine said quietly.

"Again? The Negaverse really have a knack for picking bad times to spring attacks on us. Just when we have the fire drill and we're supposed to stick together," Melina grumbled.

"Actually, I set that alarm off to get everyone safely away from the youma," Sunshine said.

"Really? That was clever. And no-one will get into trouble for it either, there'll just be a bit of confusing as to who started the fire drill," Melina said, taking out her communicator. "I hope that the others don't get into trouble for having to leave the basketball courts before they're dismissed and can go back to class." Just then, the recess bell sounded, and the noise from the basketball courts increased as the students headed back to class. Smiling, Melina pressed the pink, red, green, blue, orange and silver buttons on her communicator. "Guys, Sunshine just informed me that there's a youma on school grounds," Melina said to the images of her six friends, who nodded and vanished, one by one, from the display. Shoving her communicator back into her pocket, Melina stood.

"Sun Prism Power!" The globe of golden light lit up the small gap between the bushes and the wall, before Sailor Sun stepped out of it looking determined.

"Let's go!" she said, before she and Sunshine ran out into the open and jumped onto the roof. Behind them, still hidden in the bushes, was Hannah, her mouth wide open in shock at having seen Melina transform. Snapping back to reality, Hannah jumped out of the bushes and hurried to find a way around to her friend.

* * *

"What's it doing?" Sailor Sun asked, watching the pig youma carefully.

"I don't think it's doing anything at the moment," Sunshine said.

"Well, I can change that. I'll make it die," Sailor Sun said, conjuring her flute and jumping down into the courtyard. The youma turned and sniffed curiously at her, then turned its back on her and lay down.

"Don't you ignore me, buster! Sun Golden Blast!" Sailor Sun yelled, pointing her flute at the youma, which rolled quickly out of the way and then lay still again.

"Mind if I join in?" a familiar voice asked. Sailor Sun turned to find Sailor Orion standing behind her smiling.

"What a way to start my first day of school, huh?" she smiled, walking over and smiling up at Sailor Sun.

"Shall we get it?" Sailor Sun asked.

"Let's get it," Orion agreed. The two girls turned to face the pig-youma.

"Sun Golden Blast!"

"Orion Silver Cyclone!" The youma managed to evade the golden sun shape, but became trapped inside the cyclone. Just then, the other five Senshi arrived.

"Need a hand there, guys?" Mars asked, grinning. Sailor Sun nodded.

"Let's finish this thing together, guys!" Sailor Moon said, pulling out her Crescent Moon Wand, the Silver Crystal glittering in the sunlight. The other scouts nodded and formed a semicircle facing the youma, which was writhing inside the cyclone that trapped it.

"Mercury Bubbles Blast!"

"Mars Fire Ignite!"

"Supreme Thunder!

"Venus Crescent Beam Smash!"

"Sun Golden Blast!"

"Orion Silver Cyclone!"

"COSMIC MOON POWER!!!" The seven attacks merged into a glowing whirl of colourful energy, which merged with the cyclone and destroyed the trapped youma almost effortlessly.

"What a waste. That youma wasn't even worth sending," said a voice behind them. The Senshi turned to find Kunzite glaring down at them.

"What do you want, Kunzite?" Sailor Moon asked shortly. Kunzite glared at them and held out his hand.

"I want that Silver Crystal," Kunzite said.

"Yeah right, like we're ever going to give it to you, Nega-freak. Get lost before we toast you like an English muffin," Sailor Sun spat.

"You have a lot of bravery, little Senshi, but I'm afraid that's all you have," Kunzite said snidely.

"Oh really? And what do you think of this then? Sun Golden Blast!" Sailor Sun shouted, pointing her flute at Kunzite and shooting a golden sun shape at him. The attack zoomed through the air and hit him square in the chest, making him stagger backwards.

"Impressive, but you'll need more than that to defeat me!" Kunzite taunted.

"You want more? You got it! Cosmic Moon-" Sailor Moon shouted, before Sailor Sun cut her off.

"Let me handle him!" Sailor Sun shouted, anger blazing in her eyes. Sailor Moon stared in shock at her friend, then nodded and stepped back.

"So, it's to be just the two of us, is it, little Senshi? First I'll take you down as an example to your friends, and then if the Princess still refuses to give me the Crystal, then I'll take the rest of you down one by one until she does," Kunzite sneered.

"Oh, I don't think so! You're not threatening my friends and getting away with it, buster!" Sailor Sun yelled, raising her arms. "Sun Golden Stream!" The other Senshi watched, amazed, as a cloud of golden sun shapes began shooting out of Sailor Sun's hand and pelting Kunzite, who toppled backwards, yelling.

"You're not worth sending either, Kunzite," said a familiar voice. The Senshi turned to find Tuxedo Mask standing on another section of roof, glaring at the Negaverse General.

"Tuxedo Mask! You're alright!" Sailor Moon cried joyfully. Sunshine stared at Tuxedo Mask, sensing waves of negative energy flowing through him.

"Be careful, Sailor Moon, he's not what he seems!" Sunshine warned. Tuxedo Mask turned away from Kunzite and stared down at the Senshi, who could see that his eyes were blank.

"What's happened to him?" Sailor Moon asked quietly.

"Ha! Silly girls, you haven't figured it out yet? Tuxedo Mask is one of us now!" Kunzite sneered, clambering to his feet.

"I am not "one of you". I serve Queen Beryl, yes, but I am not an imbecile like you, Kunzite," Tuxedo Mask snapped. Sailor Moon gasped and sank to her knees when she heard that. Sailor Orion put her hand on Sailor Moon's shoulder as the Moon Princess' eyes filled with tears.

"No... No, it can't be true! Mamoru!" Sailor Moon wailed.

"You're wasting your breath, Princess, he's beyond anyone's help now. He has been turned to Queen Beryl's side, and there's nothing you can do to change that," Kunzite sneered, before laughing at Sailor Moon's despair. Then, still laughing, he vanished. Tuxedo Mask looked at the Senshi for a moment before disappearing too. Sailor Moon got slowly to her feet, staring blankly at the spot where Tuxedo Mask had been.

"Oh... What'll we do, guys? We have to save Mamoru, but I don't want to fight him..." Sailor Moon gasped as more tears flowed down her cheeks.

"If we want to get him back, then we may have to fight him," Mars said grimly, putting her arm around Sailor Moon's shoulders and guiding her to a seat. The other Senshi followed and sat down too, all of them silently thinking about what had just occurred.

"Mamoru... why did this have to happen, girls? He's gone... and he'll never call me Odango Atama again... I never thought I'd miss that, but... oh..." Sailor Moon gasped through her tears as she detransformed. The other Senshi glanced around and then detransformed as well. The seven girls sat silently for a few minutes, then Melina got angrily to her feet.

"I've had enough. If they want to fight us, then they'll be getting more than they bargained for," Melina said fiercely.

"Wh-what do you mean, Mel-chan?" Usagi asked.

"I say we take the fight to them and defeat them once and for all. Who's with me?" she asked, turning to face her friends with a determined look on her face.

"You bet! Let's do it!" Sora said, jumping to her feet. The other Senshi stared at Melina and Sora for a moment, then, one by one, they all nodded.

"OK, so I reckon we should go today, as soon as school's finished. We can give our parents a quick call and say we're gonna be home late, and then we go and kick some Nega-butt!" Melina said.

"Hold on, I think we should wait until tomorrow. We'll need to be prepared for whatever the Negaverse decides to throw at us," Ami said.

"Ami-chan, I think we're about as ready as we'll ever be. I agree with Mel-chan. Let's go this afternoon," Minako said.

"Same here!" Sora said.

"Ami-chan has a point though, guys. We need to be prepared," Makoto said.

"Not to mention that the extra night's sleep could make all the difference in battle," Rei said.

"Looks like it's three on three. What do you think, Usagi-chan?" Sunshine asked. Usagi didn't reply, instead putting her hand into her pocket and gripping something tightly.

"Um... Melina? Can I talk to you for a second?" a timid voice asked. Melina turned to find Hannah standing at the edge of the courtyard.

"I'll talk to you guys at lunch, OK? Let's meet here then," Melina said.

"I won't be able to, but just keep me up to date, that'll be fine," Rei said, before leaving. Melina smiled reassuringly at Usagi, then followed Hannah away to a quiet corner.

"You never told me you were a Senshi!" Hannah said.

"How'd you find out?" Melina asked.

"I saw you transform earlier. But that's beside the point. How long have you been a Senshi for?" Hannah asked.

"I didn't actually become a Senshi until Saturday," Melina said.

"Oh... was that why you weren't at my party, then?" Hannah asked.

"Sort of... My first Transformation knocked me out for a few hours. I was actually unconscious during your party," Melina said.

"Oh, wow, gee, I'm sorry, Melina. I didn't know that. Sorry I was so horrible to you this morning," Hannah said quietly. Melina smiled.

"Don't worry about it, it's done with now. I forgive you," Melina said, hugging her friend.

"So what's this plan you and the other girls were talking about? I'm assuming that they're Senshi too," Hannah said. Just then, there was a rustling nearby, and Sunshine poked her head through the bushes.

"Oh, hey, Sunshine," Melina said.

"What's your cat doing here? She's not a Senshi, is she?" Hannah asked.

"No, but I am Melina's guardian, and I am watching over her," Sunshine said curtly. Hannah gasped and stared at Sunshine for a moment.

"She can talk?!?" Hannah exclaimed.

"Shhhhh! Not so loud, Hannah! We need to keep Sunshine's ability to talk and my Senshi form between the two of us, OK? No telling anyone, not even David, got it?" Melina asked. Hannah nodded slowly. Just then, the bell rang for the end of recess.

"Well, we'd better get back to class. I hope no-one's missed us," Melina said.

"I'm sure people would just assume that we were hiding from the youma," Hannah said.

"If anyone asks, I suggest that's what you tell them," Sunshine said. Hannah and Melina nodded, then climbed out of the bushes and headed back to class, where they found that Miss Kaiou was waiting for them.

"You're late, girls," she said.

"Sorry, but we were hiding from the youma that was in the courtyard," Hannah said. Miss Kaiou nodded understandingly as the girls took their seats. Several other students tried to sneak into the classroom and got caught. Five minutes after the bell, Miss Kaiou was still waiting by the door.

"What's wrong, Miss Kaiou?" one of the boys in the class asked.

"We're still waiting on David," Miss Kaiou said, tapping her foot. Melina and Hannah glanced at one another, wondering where David was. Ten minutes later, he still hadn't showed up, and Miss Kaiou left the room. The class waited in silence until they heard an announcement come over the speakers.

"Would David Kelson please return to your classroom immediately? David Kelson, return to your classroom immediately. Thank you." The classroom erupted in fierce whispers about David. Melina sat staring straight ahead, wondering where he had gone. _David... where are you?_ she thought. _Why aren't you here?_

* * *

"You holding up OK, Usagi-chan?" Minako asked, putting her arm around Usagi and leading her outside after the lunch bell with Ami and Makoto following behind.

"Yeah, I'm OK," Usagi said quietly, putting her hand back into her pocket.

"Hi guys," Sora said as she joined them.

"Hi Sora," Usagi said in the same quiet voice. A sombre mood settled on the group as they walked out to the courtyard where Melina and Sunshine were waiting. Melina looked up from her communicator as the girls approached, then pressed the red button to contact Rei.

"Guys, I hate to say it, but I have a feeling there's more bad news. David's gone missing," Melina said grimly.

"What?!? When did this happen?" Minako asked.

"Sometime during recess, apparently. He was there during the fire drill, but he didn't show up at the end of recess," Melina said quietly.

"Do you think the Negaverse took him?" Makoto asked.

"I'm not sure, but it's definitely a possibility," Sunshine said. The other girls sat down, looking grim. After a while, Sora noticed that Usagi had taken out a small gold object.

"What's that, Usagi-chan?" Sora asked.

"It's my Star Locket from... From the Silver Millennium," Usagi said slowly.

"The Star Locket? That could be useful," Sunshine said.

"Why do you say that, Sunshine?" Melina asked.

"The Star Locket was a symbol of Selene and Endymion's love for one another. It supposedly had strong powers due to their love," Sunshine said.

"Wow... Where'd you find it, Usagi-chan?" Rei asked. Usagi stared blankly into the screen of Melina's communicator, then she blinked a few times and said,

"I found it on my pillow."

"Well, that's odd. Keep it safe, Usagi-chan, it might come in handy," Rei said. Usagi nodded and wiped her eyes, which had been filling with tears again.

"No, now isn't the time to be crying. I need to be strong. I need to be, otherwise Mamoru really _is_ gone forever," Usagi murmured. She looked up at her friends, hope and determination blossoming in her eyes. "You're right, Rei-chan. Even if it means we have to fight him, we'll get Mamoru back. And I agree with you, Mel-chan. Let's go as soon as school finishes," Usagi said.

"Are you sure, Usagi-chan?" Ami asked. Usagi nodded.

"Well, you're our leader, Usagi-chan, so we'll follow you. Everyone, try not to do too much in the next classes, and make sure you drink lots of water. The last thing we need it dehydration. I'll see you a few minutes after school finishes, guys. Take care," Rei said, before the display went blank.

"Well, that's that. Everyone, I'm going to find a quiet corner so that I can try and pinpoint the Negaverse. I'll let you know if I find anything," Ami said, pulling out her Mercury Computer and wandering away. Just then, the bell rung for the end of lunch, and the other girls left for their classrooms, leaving Melina and Sunshine sitting alone together.

"Sunshine, when we leave this afternoon, I don't want you to come," Melina said.

"Melina, I am your Guardian, and I-"

"Walk with me, Sunshine," Melina said, getting up and beginning to walk slowly back to her classroom with Sunshine beside her. "I know you're my guardian, Sunshine, but we can't afford to take any more than we need to. I'm not saying I don't want you there – I do – but I don't want you to get hurt. I'd rather go out into the battle without you and know that you're safe than have you come along and be always worrying that you'll get hurt in some sneak attack."

"Melina..."

"You may not have had time to teach me much, but what you have taught me means a lot. I know that I am brave enough now to go and fight the Negaverse without worrying about what happens."

"Melina, I will stay behind if you promise me something."

"What's that, Sunshine?"

"Promise me you won't use the full power of the Bronze Crystal unless it's absolutely necessary."

"Sunshine..."

"Please, Melina, just promise me this one thing."

"OK, Sunshine. I promise that I won't use it unless I really, really need to."

"Thank-you, Melina. I'll have to go and find Luna and Artemis and tell them what's going on, but I'll try to come back before you guys leave."

"OK, Sunshine. Just in case I don't see you before we leave, I want you to know that you're an amazing friend, and I couldn't have gotten anywhere these last few days without your help."

"Melina..." Sunshine breathed, tears forming in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away with a furry paw. "You guys take care, alright?"

"We will. Take care of Luna and Artemis, OK? I know they probably won't be happy about this sudden decision, but it's what we want."

"I understand, Melina, and I'm sure that with time they will too."

"I'd better get back to class now. See you later, Sunshine."

"Goodbye, Melina."

* * *

"Hi guys! Did you find anything, Ami-chan?" Melina asked, walking up to the spot where Usagi, Ami, Minako and Makoto were waiting.

"I sure did. There's a huge amount of negative energy coming from the North Pole," Ami said.

"The North Pole?!? ...Well, I guess it suits their cold-hearted approach to things," Melina said, smiling.

"Where's Sunshine, Mel-chan?" Minako asked.

"She went to tell Luna and Artemis about our plan. I'm hoping she'll be back in time to see us off, but I don't know that she'll be able to," Melina replied.

"Hi guys! Rei-chan not here yet?" Sora asked, joining the others just then.

"Nope, she's still not here. But I'm sure she can't be far away, so we'll just have to wait for a few minutes," Makoto said.

"Hey, I can tell her off for being late for once, instead of her telling me off!" Usagi grinned. The others giggled at that.

"What's so funny, guys?" Rei asked, appearing at that moment.

"You're late, Rei-chan!" Usagi said.

"Well it's not my fault I go to a different school to you guys. I'm lucky I didn't get caught sneaking in or out of school. And besides, I'm not nearly as late as you usually are," Rei said, grinning.

"Rei-chan! You're mean!" Usagi wailed, still grinning. The others started giggling again at that. Their light-heartedness quickly faded to be replaced by the sombre mood from earlier.

"Well, I guess we should leave soon," Melina said quietly. The others nodded slowly as they looked around at their friends. Finally Sora broke the silence with,

"Maybe we should move to a more quiet area, so no-one sees-"

"Melina!" a cry cut her off, and the group turned to find Hannah running towards them.

"Hannah? What are you doing here? Did you miss the bus or something?" Melina asked.

"Yes, but not accidentally. I came to wish you guys good luck," Hannah said.

"Thanks Hannah, we'll do our best," Melina said, giving her friend a hug.

"I know you will, Melina. I know that you all will. Take care, guys," Hannah said, looking at the other girls.

"We will, don't worry," Makoto said.

"Well, I'll hopefully see you guys tomorrow, if everything goes well! Which I'm sure it will, 'cause you guys are awesome! Bye!" Hannah said, before waving and running towards the office.

"How does Hannah know about us?" Rei asked.

"She saw me transform earlier, and then she came looking for me and overheard us talking about our plan. Don't worry, I've already sworn her to secrecy," Melina said.

"Maybe we should move to a more quiet area, so no-one sees us leave," Sora repeated.

"Good idea, Sora. Let's go to the courtyard, that should be empty by now," Usagi said. The seven girls walked through the school looking around at everything, fully aware that this may be the last time they saw any of it. After grabbing a last-minute drink from the drink taps, the girls reached the courtyard.

"Well, I don't think we can afford to wait for Luna, Artemis and Sunshine any longer. Let's go, guys," Rei said.

"Yeah, you're right, Rei-chan. We can't waste time. Every minute we waste could be another twenty people that are attacked by a youma," Melina said. Ami, Rei, Makoto, Minako and Sora took out their transformation pens, while Usagi and Melina touched their brooches.

"Moon Prism Power!"

"Sun Prism Power!"

"Mercury Power!"

"Mars Power!"

"Jupiter Power!"

"Venus Power!"

"Orion Power!" The courtyard was filled with the Senshi's colours for a moment, before the seven of them stepped out of their globes of light and posed, looking determined. They stood in a circle and smiled at each other.

"No regrets, guys," Jupiter said, as she began to glow green.

"We're going to save everyone!" Orion said, glowing silvery-white.

"No matter what the cost," Mars said, glowing red.

"We can do it!" Venus said, glowing orange.

"For our friends!" Sailor Sun said, glowing with golden light.

"And for our family!" Mercury said, glowing blue.

"And most of all, for our universe!" Sailor Moon shouted, glowing bright pink.

"SAILOR TELEPORT!!" they chorused, before disappearing.

* * *

Author's Notes: Stay tuned!


	13. Snowy Sisters

Sparrowflyaway: Oh my gosh, we're so incredibly close to the end, people! I've been waiting for this for ever so long.

Sora: Why? Is it a happy ending?

Sparrowflyaway: I'm not telling. You'll just have to wait and see, Sora-chan. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter! ...Of course, I don't know that ANYONE could like this chapter, but I hope you find it... well, a good read.

Sora: does something bad happen in this chapter?

Sparrowflyaway: Again, I'm not telling, Sora. Wait and see.

Sora: Oh, alright. Can I do the disclaimer?

Sparrowflyaway: Sure, go ahead.

Sora: Sparrowflyaway does not own Sailor Moon or Nintendo.

Sparrowflyaway: I don't think Nintendo would be as good if I owned that, Sora. I'm good with the imagining thing, but not so good with the technological stuff.

Sora: You could create some awesome games, though!

Sparrowflyaway: Well, if someone else handled programming, then sure, I'd be able to make some games.

* * *

"Wow, it's freezing here! Why do we have to have such short skirts?" Orion asked, hugging herself and shivering.

"Well, it'd be kinda hard to fight youma in long skirts," Sailor Sun said, squinting through the snowstorm that they had landed in.

"Come on, guys, this is no time to be standing around. We need to get moving and defeat Beryl before we freeze," Mars said.

"There's a lot of negative energy coming from that direction," Mercury said, pressing buttons on her Computer. The group set off, with Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury leading the way, and Sailor Sun trailing behind. _What if David _has_ been captured by the Negaverse?_ she wondered. _Is he alright? Are we going to be able to get there in time to save him?_ Orion noticed Sailor Sun's mood and slowed down to walk with her.

"You OK, Mel-chan?" Orion asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'm OK. I'm just worried about David," Sailor Sun said.

"You reckon he has been captured by the Negaverse?" Orion asked.

"I hope not, but that's what my instincts are telling me. I just hope I'm wrong," Sailor Sun sighed.

* * *

"So, they're finally here," Beryl murmured, watching the Senshi using her black crystal ball.

"May we go and greet them, Queen Beryl?" asked a figure that was hidden in shadows.

"Ah. Yes, you may go and greet the Senshi. And make sure that their reception is unforgettable," Beryl grinned. The figure who had spoken and four others beside her bowed and vanished. "Let's see how you handle some of my best minions, Princess," Beryl sneered into her crystal ball.

* * *

"I feel like I'm going to turn into a popsicle!" Sailor Sun moaned.

"Maybe Mars could create a flame and warm you up," Orion smiled. Just then, a cry of horror reached their ears, and they looked up in time to hear Sailor Moon wail,

"Oh no! Mamoru!" Sailor Sun and Sailor Orion exchanged glances, then ran to catch up with the rest of the group, both gasping when they saw what the others were staring at. There, suspended in midair by vines, was the bruised form of Tuxedo Mask.

"Mamoru, don't worry! I'll save you!" Sailor Moon said, running towards her love.

"Usagi-chan! NO!" Mars yelled, before she, Jupiter and Venus tackled her to the ground.

"Let go of me! I have to help him!" Sailor Moon cried, struggling under the weight and strength of her friends.

"Usagi, it's probably a trap! Can't you see that?" Mars yelled.

"I..." Sailor Moon trailed off.

"I'll run a scan of it," Mercury said, pressing one of her earrings and creating her Mercury Goggles over her eyes. She began pressing buttons on her Computer and checking the form before them, who moaned and opened his eyes.

"Sailor Moon... Help... me..." Tuxedo Mask moaned. Sailor Moon began struggling frantically, trying to get up.

"Let me go!" Sailor Moon cried.

"Don't be stupid, Sailor Moon!" Mars yelled.

"Shut up, Mars, and let me go! I have to help him! It's not right to leave him there! It's our job as Senshi to help those in need!" Sailor Moon wailed.

"Yes, but it's not a good idea to just charge right in! It could be a trap!" Mars said.

"It's not a trap, it's not, it's-"

"It's not him!" Sailor Mercury called as her scans finished. Tuxedo Mask grinned and began laughing.

"Clever girl, you saw through me. Too bad it won't help you," he said, rapidly changing into a youma that resembled a blue-skinned human girl. Cackling filled the air, and four similar youma emerged from the snow behind the first one. Jupiter, Mars and Venus helped Sailor Moon to her feet, before stepping between her and the youma.

"So, these are the famous Sailor Senshi. I must say, you're not as impressive as I expected," the first youma said.

"Who the heck are these guys?" Orion asked.

"We, little Senshi, are The DD Girls," the first one declared.

"And we are your worst nightmare," the pink-skinned DD Girl giggled.

"We serve Queen Beryl and are here to defeat you," the red-skinned DD Girl smiled.

"We will stop at nothing to ensure our Queen's happiness," the green-skinned DD Girl said.

"And we will ensure that she rules your world!" the purple-skinned DD Girl yelled.

"Not if we can help it! Supreme Thunder!" Jupiter yelled, sending a crackling arc of lightning at the DD Girls. The purple one caught the lightning with one hand and grinned at Jupiter, who stared at her in shock.

"Thanks! Now here's a present for you!" she shouted, throwing her hand up. At the same time, vines emerged from the ground and wrapped around Jupiter, who struggled fruitlessly beneath them.

"Don't worry, Mako-chan! We'll save you!" Sailor Moon shouted, taking off her tiara.

"Don't worry about me, just get moving!" Jupiter yelled as the purple youma hurled a cloud of ice crystals at her prisoner. The DD Girls laughed as the ice crystals surrounded Jupiter, but their laugher was interrupted by a shout of "Supreme Thunder!" and a huge bolt of lightning, ten times larger than the first one, shooting out of the cloud of crystals and connecting with the purple DD Girl, destroying her instantly. As the remaining four DD Girls screamed in anger for their falled comrade, the cloud of ice crystals vanished to reveal that Jupiter had been frozen in a large block of ice.

"Mako-chan!!!" Sailor Moon wailed, sinking to her knees in the snow, her eyes filling with tears.

"I'll get her out. Mars Fire Ignite!" Mars yelled, shooting a fireball at the ice block. The Senshi gasped as the fire bounced off the ice without leaving a mark.

"Nice try, but you'll need to do better than that!" the blue one cackled, before the four remaining DD Girls sank back into the ground.

"Are they gone?" Orion asked, staring at Jupiter's frozen face, which was contorted into a look of anger and pain.

"I doubt it. There's still six of us here, and they'll want revenge for that one Mako-chan destroyed," Sailor Sun said, glancing around.

"Guys, you go on ahead. They won't be able to fool me, and I'll be able to slow them down," Mercury said.

"No! It's not worth it, Ami-chan! You'll end up just like Mako-chan! I don't want to lose any more of you! They... They can just have the Crystal if they really want it that badly. It's not worth as much as you guys..." Sailor Moon said quietly, tears forming in her eyes once again.

"Usagi-chan, if you just give them the Crystal, then they'll destroy us all without a second thought! Would you rather hand them the rule of Earth or make them fight for it?" Mars asked, putting her hands on her hips. Sailor Moon sniffed and looked up at Mars, who was staring at her with courage and determination. Swallowing hard, Sailor Moon got to her feet.

"You're right, Rei-chan. We can't just give up. Ami-chan, as much as I hate this, you stay behind and slow them down. The rest of us will try to get to the Negaverse," Sailor Moon said.

"Don't worry, it's all for the best," Mercury said, winking and pushing the others in the direction of the entrance to the Negaverse. When the other Senshi got a few paces away from Mercury, there was a scream from behind them, and they whirled around in time to see Mercury flying backwards into the clutches of more vines. The pink DD Girl stepped forward and giggled as she examined Mercury

"Mercury Bubbles Blast!" Mercury yelled, sending a spray of bubbles at the youma before her, who swept the bubbles away with one hand as though they were ordinary bubbles.

"That's a cute trick, little Senshi. Now tell me where your friends went before I make you not so cute," the pink one said.

"I'm not telling you anything, you witch!" Mercury spat.

"So be it," the pink one said, stepping back and throwing another cloud of ice crystals at Mercury. The other Senshi turned away in horror, knowing what was going to happen to her.

"Come on, we'd better hurry," Orion said, tears trickling down her cheeks and freezing there.

"Yeah, you're right," Sailor Moon said, casting one final sad glance back at Mercury.

"Look out!" Venus yelled, noticing a glowing patch of ground beneath Sailor Moon's feet and showing her off it. As Sailor Moon fell hard onto the snow, vines shot out of the ground where she had been standing and grabbed Venus.

"Minako-chan!" Sailor Moon wailed, grabbing at the vines and attempting to free her friend.

"Quick, get her outta here, guys!" Venus yelled to Mars, Sun and Orion while struggling against the vines.

"Come on, Usagi-chan, we have to go!" Mars said, grabbing Sailor Moon's arm and dragging her away, with Sora doing the same for Melina.

"Well well, you're not the Senshi I was expecting. You're cute, though," the pink youma said, smiling.

"Betcha don't think this is cute! Venus Crescent Beam Smash!" Venus yelled, pointing the finger of her free hand at the pink youma. The Crescent Beam flew through the air and vapourised its target, causing the remaining three DD Girls to yell in anger.

"You little pain, you'll pay for that!" yelled the red one.

"Venus Crescent Beam Smash!" Venus yelled back, destroying that DD Girl as well.

"Time to rethink our plan for this one, sister," the blue DD Girl said.

"OK, let's see if she can handle the cold!" said the green one, hurling yet another cloud of ice crystals at Venus.

"Minako-chan..." Sailor Moon said faintly as Mars dragged her away. Suddenly, Mars stopped and let go of Sailor Moon's wrist.

"Melina, Sora, take care of Usagi. I'm going to finish those freaks off," Mars said angrily.

"OK, but be careful," Sora said, taking hold of Sailor Moon's wrist with her free hand and slowly dragging both her and Sailor Sun away. Mars turned away from her friends and glared at the DD Girls, who seemed to sense her gaze and turned away from the newly-formed ice block to face her.

"Mars Fire Ignite!" Mars yelled, shooting an enormous fireball at the two youma. The blue one managed to dodge the flames, but the green one received the full force of the blast and disintegrated.

"Oooh, you're so going to pay for that, you brat!" the blue DD Girl roared. Mars replied by sending another fireball at her. "Oh no, you don't!" the DD Girl yelled, creating a huge cloud of ice crystals and using it to block Mars' fire. Slowly but surely, the fire got closer to the DD girl, who roared with anger when she noticed. "You will not defeat me!" she screamed, forcing the ice crystal cloud forward until it completely engulfed Mars, extinguishing her fire.

"Rei-chan!" Sailor Sun gasped, watching the scene unfold, her breath getting shallow again.

"Looks like it's up to us two now, Mel-chan. Are you ready?" Orion asked, letting go of both girls and staring up at Sailor Sun determinedly.

"You bet. She's going to pay for what she and those other freaks did to our friends. Let's get her!" Sailor Sun said.

"Guys, no, please don't-"

"Usagi-chan, you have to go on without us. You're the only way that Tuxedo Mask is going to get back to normal. We can't help him, only you can," Sailor Sun said.

"And besides, we'll toast this creep and then catch up to you," Orion grinned. Sailor Moon nodded and turned away.

"Good luck, guys," she said, before continuing her trek through the snow. Orion grabbed Sailor Sun's hand and grinned at her, then the two Senshi turned to face the single remaining DD Girl.

"You're going to pay for what you did to our friends! Orion Silver Cyclone!" Orion shouted, creating a huge cyclone that almost sucked Sailor Sun in as it went speeding across the snow towards its target. The DD Girl countered the cyclone with another ice crystal cloud, which was instantly dispersed by the cyclone's fierce winds. Orion giggled as she watched the DD Girl try to run away from the cyclone, not noticing that Sailor Sun's beathing was getting incredibly shallow. As the cyclone found and trapped its target, Orion jumped in surprise as a black sun shape flew past her and connected with the DD Girl's stomach, severely wounding her and dispersing the cyclone. Orion turned to find her friend pointing her flute at the youma, black-eyed and angry.

"Mel-chan?" Orion asked timidly, watching as her friend walked slowly towards the youma, whose wound was rapidly trickling dust.

"I'll take you with me," the DD Girl gasped, creating another cloud of ice crystals and throwing it weakly at her target.

"Mel-chan, watch out!" Orion screamed. The scream seemed to snap Sailor Sun back to her normal self, as the black rapidly faded from her eyes. She looked up in time to see the cloud flying towards her, but not quickly enough to get out of the way. Just as she was preparing to be frozen, Orion focused her mind and split the cloud in two, managing to temporarily avert disaster. "Mel-chan, are you alright?" Orion asked.

"Yeah, I'm OK," Melina said faintly, still recovering from her momentary possession.

"Mel-chan, leave me here. This freak can't hang on much longer, and one good attack from me will finish her," Orion said.

"Sora, I'm not leaving you here."

"Your instincts tell you that David's been captured by the Negaverse, right?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Well if he is, then he'll need you to help him. Just like Usagi-chan's the only one that can help that Mamoru guy."

"Sora..."

"Go on, Mel-chan, I'll catch up to you."

"What if she freezes you like the others?"

"Well then you'll still be able to save the world anyway, won't you," Orion said, before pushing her friend away towards the spot where Sailor Moon stood watching the battle.

"Good luck, Sora," Sailor Sun whispered, before turning away. Orion turned without a backwards glance and walked towards the remaining DD Girl, who was clearly fading fast. She cackled weakly when she saw that Orion had returned.

"So, you came back, little Senshi. Well, I'll make it worthwhile, shall I?" the DD Girl said.

"I only came back to finish you off, freakazoid," Orion spat.

"Well, isn't that interesting," the DD Girl wheezed.

"Orion... Silver..." Orion's words were cut short as the DD Girl threw an ice crystal cloud, point-blank at Orion, whose attack was not formed enough to counter it.

"SORA!!!!" Sailor Sun screamed, watching as the cloud dispersed to reveal Orion frozen in yet another block of ice. The DD Girl cackled weakly at the Senshi's anguish, then collapsed and turned to dust.

"What'll we do now, Usagi-chan?" Sailor Sun asked, turning away from the battlefield, her eyes brimming with tears. Sailor Moon swallowed hard to stop more tears, then took a deep breath and said,

"We go on, just like they wanted." She put her arm around Sailor Sun's shoulder, and together the two remaining Senshi continued through the cold, barren land towards the entrance to the Negaverse.

* * *

Author's Notes: Stay tuned for the ending!


	14. Rescue and Sacrifice

THE FINAL CHAPTER

Disclaimer:

I feel sad about many things. What happens in this chapter is one of them. The fact that I don't own Sailor Moon is another. *sniff* Take out your tissues, everyone... here it comes!

* * *

Melina and Usagi tramped slowly through the snow, hugging each other sadly. Their silent tears lay frozen on their cheeks, and the other five Senshi stood frozen in blocks of ice behind them.

"Usagi-chan... Do... Do you think we'll make it?" Melina asked, rubbing futilely at her tears. Usagi sniffed, a determined, angry look blossoming on her cheeks.

"We have to, Mel-chan. The others believed we could, so we have to believe in ourselves too," Usagi said, glancing over her shoulder at their friends. Melina glanced back too, and felt more tears burning her eyes. Suddenly, a huge explosion rocked the area, and Usagi and Melina found themselves in a black sphere, which flew down through the earth until it reached an underground cavern. The sphere faded, and the two girls tumbled onto the floor of the cavern.

"Welcome, little princesses, to my kingdom," a voice snickered. The two girls whirled around to find Queen Beryl leering at them.

"Beryl. What do you want this time?" Usagi said coldly, glaring at the woman. Beryl grinned.

"Well, firstly, I have a little surprise for you, Amaterasu," Beryl cackled, snapping her fingers. A nearby stalactite split in two, revealing a cage of dark energy with a crumpled figure trapped inside. Beryl clicked her fingers, and the cage vanished, depositing its prisoner onto the floor of the cavern. Melina gasped as she recognised the figure.

"D-David! Oh, no, David, wake up, please!" Melina wailed, rushing over to him and gently brushing his blood-stained blonde hair from his eyes. She gently tucked his fringe behind his ear and turned to Beryl, her eyes blazing.

"So sorry, Amaterasu, but I would like a private audience with Princess Serenity, so you'll have to go for now," said Beryl, before flicking her hand. Another black sphere surrounded Melina and flew her up into the vaulting, quiet ceiling of the cavern, where crackling black energy secured the sphere to the rock. Melina yelled and threw herself against her cage, but quickly realised that Beryl and Usagi were not the only ones down in the cavern.

***

"I know you've probably been missing someone, Serenity," said Beryl, nodding to someone behind Usagi. Usagi whirled around and saw a figure half hidden in shadow, his blank, midnight-blue eyes glaring coldly at her.

"M-Mamoru!" Usagi gasped, recognising the caped figure. She stepped towards him, but he simply walked past her, knelt before Beryl and kissed her hand. Usagi stared in horror and sadness at him.

"See Princess? Your Prince – Mamoru, Tuxedo Mask, Endymion, whatever you wish to call him - doesn't love you anymore. He loves _me_ now, and there's nothing you can do to change that," Beryl said, smirking. Usagi took a deep breath and glared at Beryl.

"He doesn't love you, Beryl. You've hypnotised him into joining you. Somewhere underneath that cold person you've created is the _real_ Mamoru, I know it! He's probably screaming his head off and trying to get out right now!" Usagi said defiantly. Beryl grinned.

"Silly girl. Don't you know that hypnotism only works if the person who is hypnotised actually wants to do what they are being hypnotised to do?" Beryl sneered.

"Well, then, you've brainwashed him, and you're going to pay!" Usagi shouted, reaching for her brooch. "Moon Prism Power!" The rock cavern turned pink and white momentarily, and then Sailor Moon stepped out of the pink sphere.

"Do you really think that you can defeat me, Serenity? Your mother couldn't, and neither can you. Shall I prove that to you?" Beryl asked quietly. She clicked her fingers, and Tuxedo Mask stepped towards Sailor Moon, pulling out a black rose. Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask stood staring at each other while Beryl watched them gleefully.

"Well, isn't this ironic. The Prince, who once gave his life to protect his princess, now about to take the life of his princess. Kill her slowly, Endymion. I want to see her suffer before she dies," Beryl said coldly, a small smirk flitting on her lips as she watched Sailor Moon. Tuxedo Mask threw the black rose at Sailor Moon, narrowly missing her throat and hitting a large boulder behind her. Sailor Moon shied away from the rose, noticing out of the corner of her eye that it had almost split the boulder in two. She quickly dodged out of the way of another rose, which took the end off of a stalactite.

***

Up in the ceiling, Melina watched the fight and wondered how to heal Mamoru. She thought about that day not long ago when Usagi had remembered her past life as the princess, and how Usagi had found the Star Locket that Serenity had given Endymion in the Silver Millenium. Melina gasped as Sunshine's words echoed through her mind. _"The Star Locket was a symbol of Selene and Endymion's love for one another. It supposedly had strong powers due to their love." _Melina looked at the sphere surrounding her, trying to find a way out, when her brooch began to glow with soft golden light. The sphere exaporated, and Melina floated down to the floor of the cavern.

"Sun Prism Power!" Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask and Queen Beryl all turned as the room was flooded in golden light, and then Sailor Sun stepped out of her gold sphere of light and glared at Beryl.

"Sailor Moon! Use the Star Locket!" Sailor Sun shouted, before raising her arms. "Sun Golden Stream!" Thousands of sun shapes flew out of the palm of her gloved hand and enveloped Beryl, distracting her. Sailor Moon turned from Sailor Sun to look into Tuxedo Mask's hypnotised eyes.

"Please, Endymion," she said, sinking to her knees, her fuku glowing and turning into her princess dress, the crescent moon glowing on her forehead and the Star Locket tinkling a lullaby in her hands. Tuxedo Mask's eyes narrowed, and another black rose materialised in his hand. "Please, Endymion, you have to fight Beryl's power. Come back to me, my love." Tuxedo Mask paused, a flicker of something like curiosity in his blank eyes. "Don't you remember, Endymion, my love? Don't you remember our locket, and all the wonderful times we had? Please, Endymion, you have to remember," Princess Serenity pleaded, holding the locket out towards him. Tuxedo Mask stared at the locket, before reaching out and touching it. Silver light flooded the cavern, and Tuxedo Mask suddenly transformed into Endymion. He staggered back, clutching his head as memories flooded into his mind. He blinked and shook his head, then a smiled formed on his face as he saw Serenity and helped her to her feet, before taking her into his arms and kissing her. The two heard a scream, and turned just in time to see Sailor Sun fly across the room and crash into a large rock. She screamed in pain as she collided with the rock, then sank to the floor of the cavern, groaning. Serenity turned to Beryl.

"That's it. I've had enough of you hurting my friends, Beryl. You're going to pay!" Serenity shouted. Beryl chuckled.

"Oh, really? You're sick of me hurting your friends? Well, how about I hurt you instead!" Beryl shouted, waving her hand. Endymion yelled and pushed Serenity aside. Serenity stared in horror as Endymion plummeted down a gaping chasm that had opened beneath their feet, and felt a sharp pain spread across her chest as it slammed shut again. The cavern became blurred behind Serenity's tears, and she sank to the ground, sobbing.

"And so ends Prince Endymion. Dying for his love once again. What a waste," Beryl sneered.

Suddenly, a loud rumbling reached their ears, and Beryl looked up to see a large chunk of rock crash heavily into the floor between her and Serenity. Beryl's eyes widened as she realised that her kingdom was collapsing, and fled through a fissure that was glowing with dark energy. Sailor Sun limped quickly to the sobbing Princess' side.

"Princess, we... we have to get out of here, this place is coming down!" Sailor Sun gasped, clutching her side. Serenity stared blankly up at Sailor Sun, before nodding slowly and pulling out her Crescent Moon Wand. The Silver Crystal glowed and created a glowing silver bubble around the two girls and David, the two princesses hugging one another as they were carried back up through the earth and away from that horrible scene.

* * *

"Beryl. You have failed me," the quiet voice said.

"It's those meddling children, Queen Metalia. I need more power to be able to defeat them," Beryl said. The dark form in front of her frowned.

"I shall give you the power that you need, Queen Beryl," the dark form of Queen Metalia said, moving towards Beryl. Metalia's form enveloped Beryl, and the Negaverse Queen screamed in agony as Metalia's power flowed into her.

* * *

The bubble burst through the snowy landscape and dissolved, and Serenity, Sailor Sun and David landed gently on the snow. Serenity looked around, and could just make out the ice towers with the other Senshi inside them. She burst into fresh tears and held on onto Sailor Sun tightly, as though she too would die if Serenity let go of her arm. Sailor Sun hugged the Moon Princess and wondered what to do next. Suddenly, the area shook violently as though an earthquake had hit, and the two girls looked up to see a cloud of purple smoke shoot out of a large hole in the ground. Next second, a huge purple-and-black, poisonous-looking flower rose out of the hole.

"What the heck is that?!?" Sailor Sun yelled, staring at the flower.

"Beryl," Serenity said coldly, clutching the Crescent Moon Wand with one hand and holding on tightly to Sailor Sun with the other. She stepped forward and the flower opened, revealing the evil Queen's altered form.

"OK, I've had just about enough of you, Beryl. I'm taking you down!" Serenity said, pointing the Crescent Moon Wand at Beryl. The ground shook, and a stone pillar rose under Serenity's feet, lifting her high into the sky. Sailor Sun stared up at Serenity as the Silver Crystal glowed, and the spirits of the other senshi appeared at her side. Sailor Sun's eyes widened as she realised that Princess Serenity was doing as Queen Serenity had, using the full power of the Silver Crystal.

"NO!! PRINCESS, DON'T DO IT!!! YOU'LL DIE!!! WE NEED YOU, PRINCESS!!!" Sailor Sun screamed, tears forming in her eyes. Suddenly, her brooch glowed and enveloped her in golden light, transforming her fuku into her white, gold-spattered princess dress. The glow grew brighter, and then her brooch turned into a copper-coloured gem, similar in shape to the Silver Crystal.

"It's the Bronze Crystal that Sunshine was telling me about!" Amaterasu gasped, gazing at it as it hovered in the air above her hands. The Bronze Crystal glowed gently, causing another pillar to rise under Princess Amaterasu's feet. She jumped from that pillar to Serenity's, and held the Bronze Crystal out next to the Crescent Moon Wand. The two Crystals began to glow very brightly, and the light washed over the five Senshi surrounding Serenity, making their ghostly forms solid. Then a river of energy burst out of the Bronze Crystal and flowed into the Silver Crystal, causing its glow to become extremely bright.

"What are you doing, Amaterasu?!?" Serenity screamed at the Sun Princess.

"We...We need you to protect this world, Princess Serenity. If you use the full power of the Silver Crystal, you'll die, and then who'll be able to protect everyone? But if I give you the power of the Bronze Crystal, you can save some of the energy of the Silver Crystal and still be able to defeat Beryl. I... I don't matter as much as you do, Princess..." Amaterasu gasped, concentrating on sending the flow of energy into the Silver Crystal.

"What are you saying?" Serenity asked, her eyes wide, concern written all over her face.

"I'm saying I don't matter as much as you do. You... You're the hope of the world, Princess. I'm... I'm just a Senshi," Amaterasu whispered, watching as the Bronze Crystal began to crack.

"Amaterasu..." Serenity whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

"I... I can't hold on much longer, Princess. It's time to end this!" Amaterasu said, looking up angrily at Beryl. Serenity nodded sadly, then turned and directed the glow of the Silver Crystal at Beryl. The entire north pole was enveloped in pink and gold light, and Beryl screamed as the flower exploded beneath her feet. Beryl's screams were quickly replaced by those of Amaterasu, whose Heart Crystal exploded out of her chest, the black spirit evaporating with a shriek upon coming into contact with the combined power of both the Silver and Bronze Crystals. Amaterasu whimpered in pain and passed out, collapsing into Serenity's arms. Her Heart Crystal, now pure once again, drifted back into her chest. Amaterasu twitched and groaned as the Crystal re-entered her body.

* * *

"Is she-?"

"I hope not..."

"Melina, are you OK?"

"Come on Melina, hang in there..."

"Melina, please, wake up..."

"I... I don't think I can do anything..."

"What do you mean, Mercury? She's not..."

"Noooo!!! Melina, please, wake up, speak to me!!" Melina opened her eyes a little and saw Usagi, Ami, Rei, Makoto, Minako and Sora staring worriedly at her. Sora burst into joyful tears when she saw Melina open her eyes.

"Oh, Mel! I'm so glad you're alright! I was so worried about you!" Sora cried, hugging Melina fiercely.

"D-did we do it? D-did we get her?" Melina whispered, staring at Usagi. Usagi wiped away a tear and nodded.

"We got her, Mel-chan. Thanks to you," Usagi said, a weak smile forming on her lips. Melina let out a gasp as pain shot through her body, and then the Bronze Crystal in her hand began to glow blood red. Melina stared at it and knew what it meant.

"Sorry, guys, but it... it looks like my time is up," Melina whispered, a single tear sliding down her cheek. Sora sat up, her eyes clouded with worry.

"W-What do you mean?" Sora asked. Melina smiled gently at her.

"I mean that it's too late. I'm not going to be around much longer, Sora. My time has come," Melina said, gritting her teeth as another jolt of pain shot through her. Sora wailed and threw her arms around Melina.

"Don't go, Melina! You're my best friend, what am I going to do without you?!?" Sora sobbed into Melina's shoulder. Melina put her arm around Sora gently.

"Sora, listen to me. You need to get a hold of yourself. You'll be fine. You'll just do what you did before you came to Tokyo. And besides, you'll still have the others. Usagi, Rei, Ami, Minako and Makoto will all be there for you," Melina whispered sternly in Sora's ear. Sora wailed again and ran over to Usagi, clinging tightly to her skirt and sobbing fiercely. Melina smiled weakly at her friends.

"Well, I can't leave you guys without some parting gifts. Firstly, for Usagi..." Melina said, gripping the Bronze Crystal. A spot on the ground below the pillar began to glow with golden light, and then the body of Tuxedo Mask floated up onto the snow. A beam of golden light shot out of the Bronze Crystal, the crack in it growing slightly. The light flew over the girls' shoulders and into Tuxedo Mask, who opened his eyes dazedly. A second later, he and David were enveloped in golden bubbles of light, which drifted away beyond the horizon.

"Mamoru... Will he be alright, Melina?" Usagi asked, staring after her love.

"Yes, he'll be fine, but he won't remember being brainwashed by Beryl. I don't know how many other memories his time underground might have robbed him of, but you'll just have to see. David probably won't remember much either, after the trauma that he's been through. As for you guys," Melina said, smiling weakly at her friends, her eyes coming to rest on Sora. "I don't want you guys to be sad about me. I did what I had to do. So..." Melina whispered, lifting her free hand and gripping the Bronze Crystal. A tiny ball of golden light appeared on her fingertip, and she touched this light to each of the girls foreheads. "I'm sorry to have to do this, you guys. You're my best friends, I don't want you to be sad. Please, just forget about me," Melina whispered as she touched them. One by one, the girls' eyes went blank and they fell asleep. Melina held up the Bronze Crystal and it glowed very brightly, lighting up the entire North Pole.

"Sunshine..." Melina whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

* * *

Sunshine gasped as a strong, sad feeling swept over her.

"What's wrong, Sunshine?" Luna asked.

"Melina..." Sunshine whispered, staring into space. Luna and Artemis exchanged glances, before turning back to Sunshine.

"What about her, Sunshine? What's happened?" Artemis asked.

"I... I have to go," Sunshine choked, before disappearing in a flash of golden light. Artemis looked at Luna.

"I wonder what that was all about," he said.

"I hope nothing's happened to the girls..." Luna said, frowning worriedly.

* * *

Melina gasped as pain shot through her body again. She clutched the Bronze Crystal to her chest, hoping that Sunshine had got her message. There was a flash of gold by her hand, and Sunshine appeared, tears flowing down her furry cheeks.

"Oh, Sunshine, you came," Melina gasped, reaching out to pat her friend. Sunshine gently touched her tear-stained cheek to Melina's.

"Why did you do it, Melina?" Sunshine pleaded, staring at her.

"I... I had to, Sunshine. Princess Serenity was going to sacrifice herself to defeat Beryl. She's the Moon Princess, the hope of the world, I had to protect her. I... I remembered you telling me that the Crystals were connected, and..." Melina grunted as more pain shot through her. She waited until the pain settled before continuing, "And so I decided to put the power of the Bronze Crystal into the Silver Crystal, so that Serenity didn't need to kill herself."

"Oh, Melina..." Sunshine whispered, her chest heaving and her eyes filled with tears.

"At least the combination of the two Crystals got that spirit out of my Heart Crystal," Melina whispered. Sunshine smiled weakly, before looking over at the other senshi.

"Are they-?"

"No, they're fine. I... I didn't want them to be sad about me, so I... I made them forget me." Sunshine nodded sadly and kissed Melina's cheek.

"Thank-you for everything, Sunshine," Melina whispered, her eyelids sinking.

"MELINA!!!!" Sunshine cried, cuddling up to Melina. Sunshine looked up and wailed, "Why, Eternity?!? Why did this have to happen?!?" After a while, Sunshine noticed the Bronze Crystal in Melina's limp hand. She gently took it and layed it on the rock beside Melina's body, before curling up around it and stroking it with her paw, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. As she stroked, she felt the jaggedness of the crack begin to shrink under her paw. She looked at it, and found the Crystal whole and perfect once again. As she stared at it, energy flowed out of it and into her, turning her body liquid gold. Sunshine gasped in surprise and pain as she felt herself growing larger, and then burst into fresh tears as she realised that she had turned back into Queen Solaris. Solaris looked out at the Senshi and knelt beside Melina's body, gripping the Bronze Crystal. Protective golden bubbles formed around the Senshi, and they drifted off over the horizon, heading back to Tokyo.

"Oh, Amaterasu, my dear, brave, precious girl. You did so well, my darling. I'm so very, very proud of you. Your friends may have forgotten you, but I know they will probably always feel that there is something missing. Let's go home, honey," Solaris whispered, grasping Melina's hand and the Bronze Crystal at the same time, causing Melina's body to glow with a bright golden light. Solaris gathered her daughter's body, still glowing, up into her arms. She gripped the Bronze Crystal and another protective bubble formed around them. Solaris kissed her daughter's cheek as they flew away towards the Sun, where King Alexander's ghost was waiting to welcome them.

THE END... OR IS IT?

* * *

Author's Notes: Stay Tuned... For Season 2!


End file.
